How to Save the World
by canttouchthis87
Summary: After leaving Metropolis, Chloe finds the adventure isn't over as she encounters new heroes and villains. Spoilers through season 6/7ish. Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
1. Chapter 1

Chloe sat on the rooftop of the Daily Planet gazing at the Metropolis skyline. She smiled and let out a slight chuckle when she thought about how peaceful the city looked.

"What's so funny?" Clark asked causing Chloe to jump and turn around.

"For a moment, I thought everything was going to be okay. That I wouldn't have to leave." Chloe responded, her eyes growing sadder with every syllable.

Clark sighed, "I know. I've been racking my brain trying to think of anything I can do. But in the end, I think I'm just being selfish since I don't want my best friend to leave." Clark smiled at the last line. "Oliver has everything set up. You'll be moving to Gotham City tomorrow." Clark said sadly.

Chloe's face grew skeptical. "I still can't believe I'm moving to Gotham. I still havn't solved all the mysteries of Metropolis and now I'm expected to figure out what's going on in a city whose name invokes darkness?"

Clark laughed, "I know. It's hard for me to let you move out there. But I'm always just a phone call away. Or a really loud shout," Clak paused, "in fact, I doubt you'll even miss me. I'll probably continue showing up at your door begging you for help."

The two friends continued watching the sunset and talking about old times and Chloe's impending move.

"What'd you tell Lois?" Clark asked.

"Part of the truth - I itched a few people the wrong way a few too many times and now I can't do anything without being scared out of my mind. I left out the part where the government is trying to use me to get to Green Arrow and his gang and Lex as usual is salivating at the thought of getting his hands on my healing ability." Chloe responded, downplaying the actual threat.

"Speaking of Lois..." Clark sighed.

"So there you two are - I thought you were afraid of heights Smallville." Lois stated authoritatively. Clark simply glared at her attempting to relay it wasn't the time. She got the message and quickly chirped in, "So anyways what are we talking about?"

"Just talking about old times. Before life got so crazy," Chloe said with a mixture of sadness and regret. Lois sat thoughtfully, thinking about her cousin who was her closest family member. Both Chloe and Lois' eyes started to well and Chloe finally said "Ya know? I'm really going to miss it here." Lois grabbed her cousin into a bear hug, afraid to let go.

"Hey. Me and Clark here aren't just going to sit on our hands while you're gone. We're going to figure out whose bugging you and put it to a stop so you can come home. Okay? So...think of this as a healthy vacation. You need to meet more people anyways." Chloe smiled at Lois' words and appreciated the optimism in her voice.

The three continued to talk about both the past and the future. Finally, the sun was completely down and it was time for the trio to head their seperate ways home.

Chloe walked up to her apartment unsurprised to find Clark standing outside waiting for her. Ever since the government had connected Chloe to the Green Arrow, Clark had acted as her personal bodyguard whenever possible. As much as Chloe appreciated the concern, it was one of the reasons she was leaving. Clark was meant for more in this world than protecting her.

They entered the house to find a packet of information left by Oliver. It was the keys to her new identity – a passport, birth certificate, the works. Chloe thumbed the material over sadly.

"So I guess from now on you're going to have to call me Laura Smith. Could he have chose a more generic name?" Chloe joked. Clark tried to smile but was having trouble dealing with the fact his best friend and side kick was moving away.

"I think he tried to choose the most common name in existence. I don't know way, something about easing government suspicion…" Clark started to explain.

Also included in the packet was a resume she was expected to use. All of the references were people Oliver could trust and her "past" would allow her to pursue a career in journalism.

"So do you want to help me dye my hair?" Chloe asked. Clark chuckled and nodded his head no before giving her a hug and heading out.

Chloe had trouble sleeping that night. She was plagued with dreams that didn't make sense and the fear of leaving home. When her alarm went off at six in the morning, she was grateful.

Chloe stared at her apartment that was more or less covered in boxes. The plan was to move her and then all her stuff. She didn't get a lot of why Oliver had planned this the way he did but trusted that he was doing it for the right reasons.

At about 8, Clark showed up at her place, ready to take her to Gotham. He gave her a smile of approval for her new hair before taking her up to the daily planet. After a few minutes of gazing the city she hoped she would live in forever, she was ready to go.

Once they reached Gotham, the pair felt the atmosphere darken. Or maybe it was them allowing their own low expectations dictate appearances. They entered the apartment Oliver had set up and were impressed with its size and location. On the table next to the door was a vase with flowers and a note saying "Watchtower – hope you like the new place – Olie". Chloe felt touched and greatful she had so many friends.

The first thing Chloe did was find the computer room that Oliver promised. It wasn't quite Isis but it would allow her to perform her watchtower duties nonetheless. For Chloe, it was important to know she would still be connected to everyone even if she was 1000 miles away. After getting settled in and sending Clark away, Chloe lay back on her bed and absorbed the beginning of her new life.

5 Years Later

"Laura! Where's my piece on the new school district?" Editor in Chief of the Gotham Gazette Larry Stein barked.

"Where do you think it is? Check your office desk. Now what do you really want?" Laura Smith, now star editor at the gazette asked her long time boss.

"You caught me. I came to make sure you were alright. I know you've been hitting the streets trying to get the story on Falcone, but it's dangerous. I'm sorry, but I don't think you can get this story without being killed." Larry responded thoughtfully.

Laura chuckled slightly to herself, "Look, these streets have gotten worst and worst and everyone's too afraid to do anything. That leaves me. I'll write everything you assign me, just let me try. And think about it, if I do get the story-"

"If you get the story, we'll all be dead before it hits print." Stein cut her off. Laura's face sobered as she drilled herself for a response.

"Okay let's look at it like this. What if this place does get cleaned up and one day it's plausible that I can print this story? At least we'll have the story. Better than the other papers who seem to be too afraid to even say Falcone's name." Smith smiled triumphantly.

"Very well, but be discreet and be careful, please, this paper needs you!" Larry informed her with raised eyes. Laura looked like she was about to respond when they heard "Turn it up!" and simultaneously, editor and reporter turned to the tv.

"In breaking news, Bruce Wayne, who was declared dead over a year ago, has returned to Gotham. The billionaire refuses to comment on his whereabouts since he went missing about seven years ago and just says 'it's nice to be back!'." Pretty much the entire news room at this point was either staring at the TV or at Larry for instructions on what to do.

"Laura!" Larry barked, despite that fact they were about 2 feet away from one another.

"Yes boss?" She responded relatively nonchalantly.

"I want you on this! And take someone for entertainment with you."

"Got it." Laura said before stomping off to entertainment to grab Brad.

"So Brad. You want to help me uncover the mystery of Bruce Wayne?" Laura asked Brad playfully.

"Sure. Although I doubt it's that great a mystery. He probably just forgot to phone home." Brad responded.

"Regardless, it could turn interesting and this beats the fluff pieces the Gazette usually calls journalism."

"Point taken." Brad said. The two left the building and headed for the press conference that would be held at Wayne enterprises.

Laura had met Brad about three years ago when he came on board at the Gazette. She always found it funny that this attractive, seemingly straight guy would choose to work in the Arts and Entertainment section (which was also often gossip). Laura's inquisitive nature led her to befriending Brad and eventually she learned that he just liked people and was a big art buff. He also confessed that by being calm and not an in your face girl, he could often uncover secrets others could only dream of.

The two pulled up to Wayne Enterprises with only minutes to spare. They rushed in, flashing their press passes and settled down at the seats marked "Gotham Gazette" in the 2nd row towards the right of the stage. Almost immediately after sitting down, Bruce Wayne stepped up to the podium leading to a whirlwind of questions by the media. Wayne calmly lowered his hands, asking the impatient audience to quiet down.

"I want to thank you all for coming here today. I will answer as many questions as I can. Miss, from the times?"

"Tina Sites, Gotham Times, Where have you been for the last seven years and why didn't you tell anyone where you were?"

"Thank you Miss Sites. Unfortunately, when I left Gotham, I wasn't in my right state. It took me seven years to get my act together and come home. I am extremely sorry for any grief or inconvenience I inadvertently caused. Yes, sir from the gazette?"

"Brad Thomson, Gotham Gazette. If you won't say where you've been the last seven years, can you at least tell the public what you were doing?"

"Of course Mr. Thomson. I was…figuring things out. Soul searching if you will. It's hard to do that in mansions walls." Bruce Wayne chuckled leading to many snorts and laughs from the crowd. The rest of the press conference went on in a similar manner, with the media asking questions to which Wayne responded with vague and incomplete answers.

As they were walking out of the building, Laura confessed, "There was something quite off about him. I mean, if he was really doing some soul searching, why be so vague? I mean, he didn't fully answer a single question!"

"Maybe the guy just likes his privacy. I mean, would you wan't the media to know every detail of your past?" Brad rebuttled. Laura had to admit he had a good point. For the last five years, she has done the same thing – lied and responded vaguely to any inquiries to her past. However, this realization only made her more curious about the billionaire.

"You're probably right. This is going to be one boring headline…" Laura sighed and Brad chuckled.

Laura arrived home to her cozy Gotham apartment at around 6 pm and immediately headed to her computers. About three years ago, Clark decided to leave Metropolis and start his training and travel the world. While his decision to leave was encouraged by all (save for Lois who thought it was ridiculous that he needed to see the world), they all still missed him and wanted him back. So everyday for what seems like forever, Laura would check the Watchtower database and check for any sign of Clark.

Like every other day for the last 3 years, Laura sighed as she realized Clark had not yet returned. She settled back into her chair with a cup of coffee and checked to see if there was any Justice League work for her to do. She found an email in her secure inbox from Oliver:

"Hey Chloe! It's been about a week since we talked, I just wanted to make sure that you were doing alright. I don't know if it's reached the media yet but Bruce Wayne is throwing a little get together in honor of his return from the dead. I know, as star reporter, you're just dying to go so will you be my date? – Oliver."

Chloe smiled and called Oliver immediately, "Oliver, you know I can't show up to you to some fancy party, it will look suspicious!"

"Ah – actually, I already thought of that. See, according to your resume, you used to work for me. So, we say we're old friends. I mean, as long as we're not all over each other the hounds won't really pay attention." Oliver argued.

Chloe took a moment to contemplate the suggestion, "Y'know, I'll do it. But only because I have a funny feeling about this Wayne character."

Oliver laughed causing Chloe to roll her eyes, "Chloe, I know Bruce from way back, what you see is what you get. He's just the kind of guy that can get drunk for seven years."

"Alright if you insist. Cya." Chloe quickly said before hanging up.

Chloe looked at her reflection and then suddenly remembered she was now Laura Smith. Yeah, she still had some of the connections of her former life but she needed to remember who she was. After five years, her face had significantly grown up and her hair was now dyed red and flowed half way down her back. She figured there wasn't too much to worry about.


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday night rapidly approached and Chloe was beginning to feel excited about the upcoming gala. Sure, she was going as Laura Smith but she would be able to feel a semblance of her old life. While Chloe didn't resent having to leave and frankly enjoyed life in Gotham, it was agony having to deny her past, to be incapable of being completely open with anyone. Almost all of her co workers were completely jealous of her for getting invite to what was being called "the event of the year". Larry himself patted Laura on the back and told her "she would be able to write a great story about it."

Oliver appeared to be right about people concerning the two of them as well. Every time someone asked her how she got the invite, Laura simply told them that they were friends in Star City and this was a chance to catch up. People seemed satisfied and never really questioned it.

At precisely 7 PM on Saturday night, Oliver Queen arrived on Laura's doorstep. Laura's first reaction was utter excitement. While the nature of the date was embarrassing, it was always great to spend quality time with people from her past. Lois always had to be more careful and she had never had the opportunity to get that close to the other members of the team. So the idea of going out for the night with someone from the days of being Chloe Sullivan and it being relaxed and non business related was the best thing to happen in weeks.

"Oliver!" Laura exclaimed ramming into him for a hug.

"Chloe – I mean _Laura_ it's so good to see you!" Oliver corrected himself.

"You know, you've actually known me longer as Laura than you have as Chloe…so I don't see why this is so hard." Chloe pointed out.

"I guess you just seem like a Chloe." Oliver said somewhat matter of factly.

"Well, maybe you should have thought about that when you chose my name." Laura pointed out. The two chuckled and locked elbows heading to Oliver's limo. Instead of drinking the bottle of champagne left for them, the two spent the fifteen minute car ride catching up on their lives.

"Still trying to get yourself killed, aren't you Laura." Oliver sighed after Laura regaled him with one of her theories on gangs in Gotham.

"I wouldn't say that exactly. I'm just trying to uncover the truth – to force the people to recognize it and fight back. It's not easy. I just wish someone – anyone would do something about it." Laura went on, speaking more to the city than her friend, "So enough about me, how's the super hero business going?"

"Well," Oliver started, "not that great." After seeing Laura's face of guilt he immediately spoke up, "No! Your research has been top of the line, couldn't ask for a better Watchtower, it's just…the world seems to not care anymore. People seem to be okay with crime and view us a nuisance. Of course, that's until one of us saves them."

"You know, I still feel guilty for taking a smaller role. I loved being your guide, but it was so risky; it's how the government was able to track me in the first place." Laura admitted.

"Trust me – Lex would have caught all of us by now. Lowering communications while in gear and in action was the best decision we ever made", Oliver continued, "Speaking of Lex, that's that on thing that is going well. You know that strange document you intercepted by accident last week? Well, if we deciphered it right, I think we might finally be able to gather enough evidence to arrest him." Oliver finished proudly.

"That's wonderful," Laura said, genuinely happy, "but how? I mean, we've caught Lex red handed before and he just weasles his way out every time."

"Well this time, we've got a guy on the inside of both Luthorcorp and the police," Laura looked at Oliver skeptically, "don't worry, the guys one of us – Detective Jones. Apparently he's from mars. Has this weird thing for oreos. Anyways, he convinced a few honest feds to take an interest in the case. If all goes well, at the right time all the right people will have all the information."

"The feds? They're willing to trust capes?" Laura asked, still suspicious.

"Not exactly. They're willing to trust the Luthorcorp guy. We're really the invisible middle men who are making it all happen – and trying to keep everyone involved alive." Oliver told her.

"Wow." Was all Laura could say. Then she suddenly realized this was the reason Oliver was so insistent on taking her out – to tell her the news they'd waited for years to hear. "I'm glad you got to tell me this in person." Laura said, hugging her friend in relief, "so, what does Lois know about all of this?"

"Oh, you mean your rival over at the Daily Planet? She's ecstatic! And not only because she's going to break the story first. Don't be mad, but she told me a few months back that she suspected Lex was the one causing you grief, and I didn't say anything to make her think otherwise. I know I know," Oliver put up a hand to stop Laura from protesting, "Lex wasn't your only concern when you left and you still have a reason to stay Laura Smith. All I'm saying, is maybe once Lex is locked away you can visit Metropolis one day, see Lois more than every other month. I at least wanted her to have the hope that it was possible."

Chloe gave a small smirk to her friend, "You know, you make it impossible for me to stay mad at you." The car slowly pulled up to the front of the Wayne mansion and a valet came and opened the door for them.

"After you, miss," Oliver said with half a smile.

"Oh why, thank you Mr. Queen," Laura responded choking down laughs.

The first thing Laura noticed when she walked into the mansion was how unnecessarily large it was. She recalled her days of being at the Luthor mansion and decided she already liked Wayne for making Lex's place look insignificant. The place was gorgeous yet it all seemed decorative. It was obvious no one had really _lived_ there in many years.

The two kept walking until they reached a large ballroom filled with hundreds of guests. Laura smiled to herself as she thought about how Oliver described this as a small get together. Then again, perhaps it was – she didn't make it a hobby to keep up with the rich and famous.

Oliver immediately led Laura towards a few colleagues. The two politely chit chatted for about twenty minutes until they could no longer handle the mundane conversation. After a quick trip to the bar to grab some drinks, the two snuck out of the ballroom into a small living room down the hall.

"So this is really one happening party," Laura commented dully, "I can see the headline now – Reporter So Bored: A night at the Wayne Mansion," Oliver chuckled at her statement, "it's got Pulitzer written all over it," Laura concluded.

"These things aren't usually all that exciting. I was hoping to talk to Bruce though, I haven't seen the guy since college…" Oliver contemplated.

"Well we're not that far from the ballroom I'm sure when the prince of Gotham himself shows up – we'll know." Laura pointed out.

Laura was right, and about ten minutes after they sat down, excited hushes could be heard coming from inside the ballroom. Oliver and Laura quietly snuck back in and quickly found their seats. Moments later, the room had died down and Bruce Wayne stood with a glass of champagne ready to speak, "I wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight. It's always good to know how many people care for you," he looked down thoughtfully and continued, "well, I'm not one for long laborious speeches so let's eat, catch up, and have a good time!" Wayne concluded his speech to polite applause and began to walk around the room to talk with people.

"You know who he reminds me of a little?" Laura asked Oliver inquisitively.

"Don't say Lex-" Oliver began before he was cut off.

"Not Lex – you. The overdone playboy I mean, I knew he has a reputation but does he have to flaunt it", Laura noticed Oliver looked both a little confused and embarrassed, "oh no, don't worry I know you maintain an image as part of your Green Arrow cover, but the way he does it, it's like he wants to keep people at a distance. I don't get it." Laura finished musing.

"He hasn't had the best life – his parents were shot in front of him when he was a kid, I think maybe he's just decided to hell with it – have a good life, don't make attachments that could cause pain, and he happy." Oliver shrugged and told her. Laura gave a half smile and continued looking around the room, hoping something would make this story a little less dull besides her imagination.

"Oliver! It's been to long!" Wayne's exclamation abruptly awoke Laura from her thoughts and she turned to face the billionaire.

"It defiantly has," Oliver responded, shaking his hand with a big grin, "this is Laura, she and I were real close before she got to Gotham. I'd watch out though – she's the Gazette's star reporter."

"Nice to meet you Laura," Bruce said with a superficially friendly smile.

"Same here", Laura said, giving a smile Oliver knew was sarcastic. Bruce moved on to the next table, but promised to return later to catch up. The night went on rather pleasantly. Oliver and Laura for the most part kept to themselves and talked about the league and other issues going on in their lives. Suddenly, Oliver's left front pocket started buzzing. He gave a small frown before picking up his League phone.

"Hello?...I'm in Gotham…what?...Why?...Thanks for calling Dinah. Yeah I hope so, bye." Oliver grabbed Laura's elbow and started steering her away from the party before he had even pressed end.

"Oliver, what's going on?" Laura asked, suddenly concerned.

"The League just got a message. Apparently, Lex knows we're close to bagging him and therefore he's going back to an old project…"

"Bagging me," Chloe asked somewhat confused.

"Exactly, only not for you power. A little bird told him that you know who the Green Arrow is. Well, the point of the matter is, Lex's plane just left for Gotham an hour and ½ ago. My guess is he's on his way here." Oliver said, his face burning in concern.

Laura wasn't quite sure was to do or how to react. "Will he recognize me?" She asked Oliver, "I mean think about it, everyone here knows me as Laura, I mean, I only vaguely resemble the Chloe Sullivan of five years ago. If he comes in, we act normal, then maybe he'll just move on." Laura suggested.

Oliver contemplated Laura's suggestion, "it's a good idea, but it's risky. I mean, what if anything about you sets him off? He'll be all over you."

"Alright, I'll go to the bathroom, put on makeup in a way that my face is barely…anything. Then act like I have a thing for Lex Luther. It's the last thing he'd expect from Chloe Sullivan." Laura proposed.

Though still skeptical, Oliver conceded it was a good idea. He was grateful he had decided to come out to Gotham and was here in case not everything goes as planed.

"Besides, we're assuming he's going to come here. He might just go searching for me without stopping by!" Laura stated optimistically.

"I doubt it. It would look bad for Lex to come to Gotham without stopping by to welcome back Bruce." Oliver pointed out with a slight frown. Though the two were antsy, Oliver and Chloe attempted to blend in and appear as though nothing was wrong. However, every time a man spoke loudly or they heard anything remotely funny, their heads would immediately start turning in search for Lex. Hence, they were surprised when he showed up right behind them.

"Oliver Queen," Lex stated causing both of them to jump slightly before putting on their calm faces, "nice of you to be here. It's like a school reunion." He finished, sounding utterly bored he had to waste his time at such an event.

"Lex." Oliver said. Then he noticed Lex nodding to Laura and he immediately jumped in, "Oh Lex, this is Laura Smith, reporter at the Gotham Gazette."

"Hi. It's quite an.,honor to meet you." Laura stampered out. She started blushing and immediately tried to turn away.

"I think I may have read a few of your stories. It's good to meet you," Lex said somewhat flirtatiously, Laura returned with a wide out of character smile. Playing along, Oliver put on a face of annoyed jealously.

"It was good seeing you Lex, but we have to go talk to some other people – I promised them." Oliver stated quickly.

"It was sooo nice meeting you Mr. Luthor." Laura stated girly before being dragged away by Oliver.

Lex watched the couple leave and laughed quietly to himself. For a moment, he thought that Laura looked a lot like Chloe but then realized that Chloe would never be invited to such an event. This realization was confirmed by the girl's obvious crush on him. He continued on, making the rounds, before stepping outside to talk to his team.

"Have you hacked into the city video cameras yet?" He asked anxiously. He wanted the answers he needed so he could get rid of Green Arrow and his team forever. "Good. Now call me if you have an update." He paced for a moment, hoping to clear his mind and then his phone rang. "Yes?...I know Gotham is a big city, I want you searching anything that could remotely concern Chloe Sullivan. Her cousin has been flying here at least once every other month. Look. She's here…Use all my resources if you have to. Find her!" Lex said, wishing it wasn't a cell phone so he could dramatically hang it up.

Lex spent another twenty minutes at the party until he was too anxious to stay any longer. He left to personally oversee the search. The moment he was out the door, Oliver and Laura both sighed in relief.

"Seriously, I thought he was never going to leave," Laura said, "Were you able to hear what he was saying on the phone? I tried to read his lips and all I got was 'watermelon'."

"No luck. However, I did notice something." Oliver pointed to a spot on the wall that looked a little to newly painted, "I know it's a long shot but just maybe our good old Bruce Wayne has video surveillance in this place?"

Laura smiled slyly at him, "Oliver, you're a genius!" After another thirty minutes or so, the two decided it was about time to leave. It had been a tiring night but Laura felt relatively awake with all the anticipation. As soon as she arrived home, Laura decided to immediately start attempting to hack in to the Wayne Mansion's security system – she was anxious to hear what exactly it was that Lex was saying on the phone.

When she first started she was optimistic and somewhat excited but after about 20 minutes she started to feel useless and discouraged. About twenty minutes after that, she decided to call up backup.

"Victor? It's me, _Laura_… No, not that Laura, Laura Smith… look I need your help… Your heading here anyways?... Why that sunofa-… ya ya ya I'll see you in the morning." Annoyed, Chloe nodded her head. Oliver decided to rotate a member of the team to Gotham to keep a far away eye on Chloe. Sure it was sweet, but unnecessary and had an incredibly high possibility of back firing. On the bright side, with Victor in Gotham, hacking in will be much easier.

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A/N: Alright that line where Lex goes, "use all my resources?" that actually an inside joke I figure the world needs to know. My friend and I were watching Smallville and we noticed how it seems like every episode Lex is giving permission for one of this assistants to use all of his resources to ensure the success of some unprofitable venture. Well, I hope at least someone else finds this funny. I put up this chapter about 24 hrs after the first so people could begin to get the idea of where the stories heading. I hope to put up a chapter every day but I'm not making any promises.


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, in the Wayne mansion in a hidden security room, Bruce Wayne was lazily going through the night's video surveillance.

"So, Master Wayne, is everything going as you hoped?" His life long butler Alfred asked.

"I believe so. No one seems suspicious, except a few who think I drank for 7 years straight." Bruce chuckled a bit. He felt a little creepy going through hours and hours of video footage of his own party but if he was going to help his city, he needed to make sure his Bruce Wayne image was stable first. "There's one thing that's bugging me. Lex Luther showed up dramatically late and when he said hi to be he seemed extremely distracted. The Luthors bug me on a number of levels. Could you take a note of all the times he's seen in the footage? I have some work to do in the cave."

"Of course. Be careful…" Alfred responded, with a voice of concern.

"You know me, I'm all about safety first." Bruce responded. After discovering the caves underneath the mansion, he had been spending a lot of time trying to build some kind of secret getaway – a place where his 'alter' ego could live. In addition, he was trying to figure out who this alter ego would be. His greatest fear was that he would be treated comically rather than seriously. He couldn't handle the idea of being booed out of his own city.

For the last couple of days now, he had toyed around with the idea of dressing up like a bat. Sure, it's a little costumey but besides that, it was would allow him to be stealth and instill the fear he sought to control. He knew how people often felt about people taking the law into their own hands – they tended to be both skeptical and fearful. He didn't need the people's support – Bruce just needed to be able to do what needed to be done.

After a successful field trip to the research and defense division of Wayne Enterprises following his return, Wayne felt he had all the tools he needed to successfully and safely begin to bring order back to a mod run city. All he had to do was perfect the theatrics and he could finally begin something truly meaningful.

Wayne sat in the cave, wielding small bat shaped boomerangs and enjoying a light mist from the nearby waterfall when he heard Alfred yelling down the elevator shaft.

"Master Bruce! There is something you'll want to see…" Alfred yelled, hoping Bruce would hear him and he wouldn't have to go down to the cave himself. Bruce yelled back that he was coming back up and immediately hoped back on the lift to head to the makeshift hidden security room. "There." Alfred pointed at Lex in a secluded hallway:

_"Yes?...I know Gotham is a big city, I want you searching anything that could remotely concern Chloe Sullivan. Her cousin has been flying here at least once every other month. Look. She's here…Use all my resources if you have to. Find her!"_

"I'm offended, here I was thinking Lex missed me!" Bruce said with obvious amusement. "As creepy as this is, I'm pretty relieved Lex's last minute RSVP has nothing to do with me or the company."

"I agree sir." Alfred stated, still appearing a little worried. "I do feel bad for this girl though. He really does seem intent to find her."

"So do I. Would you mind looking her up? As a rule, I've always believed if a Luthor is interested it usually can't be good." Bruce asked rather passively. He looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows, "huh? It's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to spy on some bad guys. Ill see you in the morning."

"Indeed I hope so." Alfred responded with a grim tone.

Even without a full blown costume, Bruce figured he could at least find out as much information as he could. To the average person, Bruce looked like a common thief – dressed up and down in black with a home made ski mask on. However, a closer look would reveal a state of the art Kevlar suit and numerous small but effective devices to help him see and hear conversations he wasn't supposed to.

Wayne found a nice snug spot where he had a good view (through binoculars) of Falcone. After attaching a small device to his ear and turning the volume up, he patiently awaited, hoping to hear some if any worthwhile information. At first, it was incredibly boring. For a mobster that an entire city fears, Falcone was required to have a lot of incredibly boring conversations with bland and stereotypical mob-like people.

About an hour and a half of recording small time mob business, a man showed up in a deep black trench coat and aviators. Immediately, Falcone sent the few underlings hanging around away and Bruce tensed up and paid close attention.

"You know, the sunglasses at night are a bit much, And-" Falcone started before he was cut off.

"Don't say my name. I may trust you, but I don't trust Gotham at night. Do you have the drugs?" The man asked with a sense of urgency. Though he tried to hide it, Bruce could sense his fear. So could Falcone.

"Don't worry about it. Of course. I assume you have the money?" The man nodded and handed Falcone the money. The mobster whistled for two of his heavier guys to come and help deliver some ummarked boxes to who Falcone called his "new friend".

Bruce stared with his eyebrows furrowed. The entire exchange had been vague and unhelpful. The one thing that made Wayne uneasy was the mystery man's intense secrecy – it suggested that he was someone of importance whose name would carry meaning. Where were these drugs going? Nothing about the exchange seemed normal in how drug runners usually did business. Something else was going on, and Bruce hoped he could figure it out before it go to late.

At around 2:30, Wayne felt himself yawn and was about to pack up when he heard Falcone say something to what seemed to be his personal assistant. "Anders, I need you to keep a special eye on Ms. Laura Smith. Sources tell me she's trying to dig where she shouldn't." Falcone said without waiver.

"Do you want me to send her a message?" Anders asked almost a little too excitedly.

"Unneccessary. I know she won't go to print. I just wan't to make sure she keeps her trap shut. Won't help us if Gotham is mourning over its star reporter." Falcone explained.

Wayne raised his eyebrows and thought to himself how civilized Falcone was being. Then, he realized that it wasn't so much that he was a softy but that he simply didn't need to kill the girl – he had so much power the girl was irrelevant. The thought sent a shiver down Wayne's back.

After he returned home, he found a folder with all the information he would need on Chloe Sullivan. He left a note for Alfred to get information on Laura Smith and to run a check on all men about 6 ft 2 with dark brown hair who have recognizable names in Gotham. Considering the night a success, Wayne literally passed out and enjoyed a dreamless night of sleep.

Laura vaguely heard the sound of three loud bangs on her door. She immediately pulled the comforter over her head and whispered 'go away' hoping the noise would hear her. Unfortunatly, the bangs kept coming only louder and faster now. Frustrated, Laura yanked the comforter off and yelled 'just a minute' before stomping off to grab her robe and answer the door.

"You look absolutely lovely this morning." Victor said with a glowing smile.

"Victor!" Laura exclaimed, excited to see her favorite cyborg, "Sorry about the slow rise, I didn't get to bed until 3:00 AM, I couldn't help myself from trying over and over to hack into the manor's security system." Laura said with an obvious look of disappointment.

"Hey, don't worry about it. He's rich, and probably paranoid after drinking for 7 years straight and invested in some fancy new system. Luckily, you have me now – I was literally _built_ for this kind of job." Victor said patting Laura on the back and giving her another tooth filled smile.

"Alright how about you get started and I get coffee?" Laura suggested, leaving victor by her computers while she went into the kitchen to start a batch of coffee. When she got back her jaw dropped as Victor was already sifting through some of the video footage from the night before. Chloe sat down and handed Victor who absentmindedly started siping it. About seven minutes later, he paused the screen, smiled, and said "I found it!"

The two watch the same footage Wayne checked out from the night before. When it was over, Victor pressed pause and turned to Laura.

"That was it?" She asked. Sure, she didn't figure Lex would reveal his deepest darkest secrets in the confines of Bruce Wayne's house but she hoped they could get a one up on his Gotham excursion. "I mean, did that tell us anything?"

"Well, it told us despite Lois's 4 stop visits to Gotham, he still figured out where she was going." Victor pointed out, with an overall sympathetic yet unsure of what to do look on his face.

"Yeah, he probably has someone keeping an eye on Lois since she has a bad habit of sneaking into Luthorcorp facilities on a week by week basis. But anyways, Oliver and I kind of assumed that why he thought I was here anyways. I was hoping maybe if he had a lead he would say something…I don't know. I just don't like being hunted down." Laura let out, exhausted.

"We know another thing now – he's using the public security act to find you." Victor said, with a slightly devious look on his face.

Laura chuckled, "All those cameras were a stupid way to try and make Gotham a safer place. I love how Lex is going to use them to aid in his sinister plots."

"But we know! Now we can block out any footage that could find you." Victor pointed out. "And…if this blows over it'll be another tiny charge we can add to the growing pile at his trial."

"Alright, that's well in good but for the most part, I don't do anything suspicious. I mean, I guess you could check to make sure there aren't any images of me and Lois together but for the most part when she came, we sat on the couch all weekend and ordered pizza." Laura responded, rather annoyed.

"Okay okay. So you're right, we don't have much to go on. But neither does he. All he knows is you're in Gotham, and he's already seen you and looked the other way! Just keep up your day to day activity. I know Dinah's back in Metropolis monitoring Lex practically 24 hours a day and hopefully this will all blow over."

Laura sighed, "Yeah, you're right. Besides with all this excitement, I practically forgot about the villains closer to home."

"Who?" Victor asked, a little curious.

"Carmine Falcone. And unlike Lex, everyone knows he's the bad guy. Only in Gotham could a mobster be so well known yet so well protected. Everyone's afraid of him – I mean, he practically runs the city." Laura explained.

"I've heard of Falcone but what have you got on him?" Victor asked.

"Well, I've been trying to figure out how a person can go about acquiring so much power. So far, I've found connections from him to the judicial system, the police, I've even discovered his goons working in the Gazette. The problem is, my editor doesn't want to go anywhere near the story – he's afraid if it even touches a computer a bomb will go off. And he's probably right too. With all of Falcone's connections, the worst thing is that you don't know who to trust."

"Why don't you go to the feds with it?" Victor asked, a little surprised.

"Same problem. They're either afraid or in league. I swear, this guy's a genius. He's worked out a system where he has all the control and can therefore rake in all the profits." Laura grimly pointed out.

"So, if your editor won't let you work on the story, what are you doing with it?" Victor asked the nest obvious question.

"Well, I figure that one day the city might grow a back bone or something will happen to elicit change and I want to be right there when it happens. I've been cataloging all of Falcone's illegal activity that I can hoping that maybe someday he'll make a mistake or get himself involved in something to big for him." She added thoughtfully.

"Sounds like you've got a lot of work to do – trying to save the world." Victor told her with a small smile. Here Laura was in the nastiest city in the US and she was trying to save it from imploding in on itself.

"Just doing what I can." Laura shrugged, looked at the clock noticing it was already 8 AM, "Uh oh, I've got to be at work in an hour. Alright, you can stay here or- ya go where you –" Laura stampered on.

Victor laughed, "Laura, calm down. I'm going to head back to my hotel. Call if you need anything?"

"Of course." Laura smiled and hugged her friend goodbye.

He wasn't sure what it was – maybe an animal? All he knew was that there was unwelcome pressure on this left shoulder. Bruce tried to swat what he believed was probably an alley cat away when he noticed his silk sheets and realized there was probably not an alley cat in his bedroom at Wayne Mansion.

"I'm sorry Master Wayne, but "chooing" me will not make me go anymore." Alfred said with an amused smile. Bruce hopped out of bed and looked over at his clock. He sighed – it was already noon.

"Thanks for getting me up Alfred but I can take it from here." Bruce told his butler before putting on a robe and heading to the study. Their awaited not 3 folders – one on Chloe Sullivan one on Laura Smith and an incredibly thick one that appeared to have just about every man in Gotham in it. Bruce sighed and began with the folder on Chloe Sullivan.

_Born: May 17, 1987 in Metropolis, Kansas. Went missing about 5 years ago._

Bruce frowned. This girl was 26 years old – what did Luthor want with her? The next few documents in the folder were records of employment, education, etc. Finally, he got to one that stuck out.

_FBI: Confidential_

_Concerning: Chloe Sullivan_

_Knows vital information concerning the terrorist known as Green Arrow. If found, apprehend._

He continued to stare at the simple sheet. He noticed the date was about two months before she went missing which led him to believe that either she ran or the FBI caught up with her. Then, he noticed the last document that sent a chill down his spine.

_Confidential_

_Subject: Chloe Sullivan_

_Ability: Healing_

_Priority: High_

Bruce was now very glad that he took the time to find away into Lex's most hidden files. Although the few lines didn't reveal much, something about it made Lex realize he didn't wan't this Chloe girl for her own benefit. However, the question still remained why did he want her. He had heard rumors that the Green Arrow was somehow messing up his business but how? And how far was he willing to go to find her? Would he tear up Gotham just for this one kid?

He frowned and placed all the information back in the folder. While he still had a lot of questions, the more he dug, the more he thought that maybe this wasn't his fight. If it became more of a problem, he would take it from there. Afterall, he wanted to save Gotham and he couldn't do that if he spent all of his time and resources trying to solve the mystery of one girl.

Out of the two folders that remained, the one on Laura Smith interested him most. If this girl had really rubbed Falcone the wrong way, than maybe she knows something that could help bring him down. Wayne pondered the possibility but also knew that it would be dangerous to involve a reporter in his quest for justice.

Unlike Chloe Sullivan, Laura Smith led what appeared to be an unextraordinary life. She grew up in a suburb outside of Star City, went to Star City University and got a prestigious internship working in the research division of Queen Industries – directly under Oliver Queen himself. After she completed her internship, she was offered a full time position at Queen Industries but chose to follow her passion – journalism. Her first choices in newspapers denied her so she came to Gotham where she chose to make the best of a sticky situation.

Bruce sighed. The biography only confirmed what he believed – this was a bright girl who knew how to get a story but more than less likely would be no match for the underworld of Gotham. He would have to be just a little bit less amiable and a bit more stealth about retrieving what she knew.

"Master Wayne," Bruce looked up expectantly as Alfred entered the room, "the remainder of your costume has arrived. I believe it is all as you wished it to be." He informed him in a way that was both polite but also reminded Bruce he didn't wholly approve of what he was doing.

"Thank you Alfred. I'll be there shortly." Wayne responded.

Before going down to the cave, Bruce chose to take a quick glance at the third and final file. There were a total of 142 men between 6 and 6 ½ ft tall with black hair with name recognition in Gotham City. Bruce sighed and figured he would have to start narrowing down his search until he could come up with a reasonably number.

"Perfect." Bruce said while admiring the helmet that appeared to be bat ears.

"You know, with just those on, you look quite adorable if I may say so." Alfred said quickly, trying hard not to laugh. Within a few moments, Bruce had the entire suit on. "On the other hand, you look awfully frightening." He corrected.

Bruce began walking around the room, mock fighting and testing out the flexibility he had in the suit. All in all, the suit afforded him the comfort he would need to be able to fight without worrying about ripping a seam. He looked at his watch: 3 PM. Bruce was anxious to test out his new set of armor but he didn't exactly want to run out while the sun was still up. He figured he would test out his suit by breaking into Laura Smith's apartment and discovering what she new about Falcone.

After a rather bland afternoon of confirming Laura's addressing and creating the tools to disable her alarm system, Bruce sat through a long dinner with the current CEO of Wayne Enterprises and eventually found himself back in the cave. For the first time all day, he felt a rush of excitement as he put on his costume and prepared to grace Gotham with his presence for the first time.

He really did only intend to go to Laura's and get the information he needed. Unfortunately, things never go as planned. As he got off his motorcycle about 4 blocks from Laura's apartment building, he heard the cries of a woman screaming.

"HELP HELP! HES MUGGING ME" She yelled for dear life.

"Hey Lady – this is Gotham, even if they hear you, no one's gonna care" the mugger responded coolly while holding the knife to her neck. From where Bruce was standing, the woman was well off and didn't want to depart from a necklace. Without really thinking, he sprinted to where the mugging was and tore the man off of her. He got up and began to point the knife at Bruce when he found himself knocked out cold on the ground the a small bat symbol lying next to his head. The lady looked as though she thought she was dreaming. She turned to Bruce, who was standing their awkwardly.

"Thanks." She told him and grabbed up her purse and walked away.

"Of course." Bruce said once she was out of ear shot. Taking in the surge of adrenaline from saving a women's life or at least her well being, Bruce took a moment before continuing on towards Laura's apartment. Finally, he reached it and began climbing the fire escape to the fourth floor. He recognized the apartment based on the blueprints he had found earlier that afternoon. After wirelessly disabling her alarm system, he jimmied the window upon and slowly but gracefully slid inside.

"Freeze" was all he heard as he realized his plan wasn't going so well. Although all the lights had been out for over an hour, apparently she was still awake? But even so, his entrance was so quiet it should've been mistaken for the wind.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." He responded in a raspy voice. He moved to grab her right wrist and disable her when she beat him to it and had him slammed on the ground – taser right next to his neck. Bruce simply stared. He hadn't expected this girl to have any fight in her, let alone be able to bring him to the floor. Sure, he could've stood his own but he hadn't been treating her like an enemy but like a small 110 pound girl.

"Who sent you?" She asked. It was obvious she was trying to appear calm but nonetheless fear seemed to penetrate her voice.

"No one sent me lady. I've obviously come to the wrong place." Bruce responded, hoping to distract her. Suddenly, a noise came from behind her and the momentary distraction allowed him to quickly sedate her. He lay her on her bed and went to where the noise was coming from. What he found was a hidden walk in closet with an array of computers and monitoring screens.

"Who is this chick?" He asked himself in wonder. Then he noticed what appeared to be a panic button on so he realized he didn't have time to check and merely grabbed a massive binder titled "Falcone" and ran for it. As he slid into an alley next to her building, he looked up to see the lights in her apartment go on and panicked voices accompany it. "Quick", he thought to himself. Not one to stick around, he jogged to his motorcycle and drove off.


	4. Chapter 4

"CHLOE! CHLOE!" Victor yelled as he entered her apartment. Suddenly he felt a rush of wind brush past him.

"Dude, it's Laura. Not Chloe." Bart corrected him and quickly found Laura unconscious on her bed. "She has a good pulse."

Victor took a closer look at the body of one of his closest friends, "she appears to have been sedated" he said with a furrowed brow. When the Justice League received the 911 from Laura, they assumed one of Lex's goonies had found her. However, had that been true, there would be no way she would have been left there asleep in her apartment. So what was going on.

A muffled sound came from Bart's ear who responded, "Impulse to Arrow. She is okay. Appears to have been sedated, but otherwise in perfect shape," Bart immediately faced Laura who was beginning to stir, "hold that thought, she's waking up." Bart helped Laura sit up and handed her a bottle of water, "Laura, what happened?"

"I don't know," Laura said, "I got a warning that someone had tried to turn off my fake security system and then another one saying my window had been breached. So I got out my taser and tried to get what I could out of him. I had him cornered but this guy was fast! Before I knew it I was passed out on the bed."

"Do you think he was working for Lex?" Victor asked.

She shook her head while yawning, "I doubt it I mean. He left me here didn't he? And he didn't seem to expect me to be anything more than Laura Smith."

"So, who exactly was this guy?" Bart said, his mind still focusing on the "really fast" part that Laura mentioned.

Laura laughed a little, "I don't know if you'll believe this, but he looked like a bat. To be honest, if I weren't used to meteor freaks and grown men who treat every day like it's Halloween I probably would've been really freaked out." Laura started to get up. Nothing appeared to be missing and then she noticed the door to what she called her own mini Watchtower to be open. "Uh oh" she said. However, everything seemed to be perfectly in place except, "My Falcone files are gone," she said, more confused than upset.

"Really?" Victor said. From what he knew of the mob, they were into scaring you and doing crazy illegal things. Not dressing up like a bat and breaking an entering just to steal a file that probably exists somewhere else.

"Yeah, everything else is here. My computers aren't fried or anything. Just that one file. Huh." She said, with a small shrug. Then she yawned again, "While my apartment being broken into is the most exciting thing to happen since Lex Luthor came into town, I really would like to get to sleep. We'll figure this out tomorrow? Please? I do have work in the morning."

Bart put on a smile, "Of course Chlo- I mean Lauralicious. Would you mind if we park on your couch tonight, I'd feel better knowing you have a line of defense." She waved her hand in consent, and closed her bedroom door and fell asleep.

Laura woke up the next morning not feeling as well rested as she would have liked. She had trouble falling asleep and had a few nightmares where Lex walked in wearing bat ears. When her alarm finally went off, she was relieved to be able to go into work and start putting together the pieces of what happened the night before.

However, rather than the usual hustle and bustle atmosphere of the newsroom, it was abuzz with excitement. She walked up to Brad in the hopes of finding out what was going on.

"You havn't heard?" He asked Laura, a little shocked. Laura simply nodded her head no, her eyed wide in anticipation. "There's some new vigilante on the streets of Gotham. Left a little calling card and some very frightened criminals." That news got Laura interested.

"What does he look like?" Laura asked, beginning to put the pieces together.

"They say he looks like a bat," Brad responded, obviously excited. He handed her a photo copy of a drawing of a small bat shaped boomerang, "he leaves those at the scenes of the crime."

"And he's stopping crime? Not a criminal?" She asked.

"Yup, Gotham's got it's own Green Arrow! He stopped two muggings and a bank robbery all last night." Brad was obviously impressed. Laura didn't know how to react.

"Huh." She guessed it made sense. So there were two options. Number one, he's Falcone's little ploy, taking down his competitors but making it look noble. On the side, he might as well break and enter and steal damning evidence. But for the most part that didn't make sense. Falcone didn't need ploys – he already had the power. And furthermore, if he wanted to take damning evidence, that one folder was not the only copy which any good mobster would assume.

Leaving option two. That he was some sort of new hero hanging around Gotham and he had got wind that Laura had evidence on Falcone and wanted it himself. "Huh." She repeated to herself. It made some sense. To him, Laura was just a simple reporter who was good with a computer and had good sources. Had his plan worked, she would have woken up, noticed her file missing, gotten annoyed, and put it in the back of her mind – most likely thinking it was a friend or that she had simply misplaced it.

"Laura!" Barked Larry Stein from across the room. Laura immediately jumped and started lightly jogging towards he boss.

"Yes sir?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Thank god you're finally here. I need you front and center on this bat thing. It's huge. Talk to these people he's saved and figure out what this guy is. Is he here to help? Or is he just looking to be the next big thug in town? I've got faith in you – you can break this." He told her.

"You sure? You know, Brad might be good at this sort of thing, he is really good at getting information out of people." Laura reminded him.

"I'm having Brad do his own research on the matter. However, I want you taking the lead on this Smith. You got that?" the Editor asked.

"Yes sir!" Laura responded. After Larry walked away, her chest dropped as she sighed. On one hand, given the number of superheroes she knew, she was always afraid of accidently exposing one or writing them in the wrong light. But on the other, hand she did have the most experience with them and was therefore the one most likely to figure out the real story. In the end, she was going to be stuck researching this Batman and in a way she would be doing work for both of her jobs at the same time. She smiled at that thought.

She sat at her desk and immediately jumped onto her secure email to send an email to Oliver: _Oliver, I'm not sure if you heard, but there's a new guy in town. Check out the Batman. In case you were wondering, he is the same guy who broke into my apartment last night. I'll be in touch. Laura._ She sent the message and only then realized he had already sent her virtually the same message. "Oops." She muttered and began her own research.

Unfortunately, her own personal experience with the Batman was going to be about all she was going to be able to discover about him. The two women and one man that he saved talked about him with a sense of awe and fear. All in all, the guy seemed like a typical vigilante – standing up for those who can't save themselves.

By 5 PM, Laura had finished as detailed and exciting a piece as possible about the Batman. Her editor nodded in approval and instructed her to get some sleep because she looked terrible and slammed the door in her face. On her way out of the building, she felt as though she were being watched and attempted to move in a way that she could see who was following her. Suddenly an arrow slid right past her cheek and into the wall to her left. Upon seeing the arrow, a toothy smile lit up her face.

"Mr. Green Arrow, how nice of you to grace us here in Gotham!" She commented. He proceeded into smiling and taking of his hood and glasses and giving her a hug.

"What can I say, When I hear my favorite side kick gets attacked, I can't help but come running." He told her.

"So you were on a plane as soon as you got the 911 last night, spent the day checking for clues, came up empty, and now you're here?" Laura enquired.

Oliver sighed, "pretty much. So what do you have on this guy?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's not some criminal. I talked to the people he saved and he seems like a darker version of you – helping out the innocent in a jam." She told him.

"So then, why did he break into your apartment and steal a file?" He asked, obviously skeptical of the guy.

"Well, the way I figure it, he got word that I have a ton of stuff on Falcone. He figures he'll take it, and use it to I don't know find a way to stop him? It made sense in my head – I mean it!" She added as she saw him raise his eyebrows quizzically. "Anyways, he doesn't really seem like a threat, if anything he might be able to bring some good to Gotham." She said meaningfully.

"Alright, this is your city so I'll yield to your judgment. But I want you to keep an eye on him for the league – and I mean that in both ways. If you think he's going dark side and needs to be stopped let us know. But also let us know if you think he'd be an asset to the team." Oliver told her.

Laura looked bored, "Of course Ollie. Now, as much as I love spending time with the Green Arrow in narrow alleyways, I really must get home. I have a new superhero to research." And with a wave, Oliver ran into another alley while Laura hopped into her car and headed home.

When Alfred had walked into Bruce's bedroom to wake him up, he was surprised to find the room empty. Slightly concerned, he headed to the study hoping to find him there.

"Don't worry, I'm alive." Bruce told his butler with a smirk.

"I'm relieved to hear that. But are you sure you're alright? You are up before noon?" Alfred asked in a mocking tone.

"I'm fine. Check this out – it's the motherload on Falcone. Not just organizations he's involved in but his connection with the police and judicial system. This guy has his hands in everything – no wonder everyone's afraid of him." Bruce pondered more to himself than anything else.

"If you don't mind my asking, how are you going to do anything about it?" The dutiful butler asked.

"I figure the first thing I should do is simply undermine his operations. If I can stop some of his illegal transactions from taking place, then maybe people will start to realize he's not as all powerful as some believe. Maybe some change could happen…" He stared off, wondering in his head how he would pull this off.

"Did any of Ms. Smith's files shed light on the shady transaction you witnessed the other night?" Alfred asked.

"Unfortunatly, no. Or at least I hope not. I have a few of her personal notes, and one suggests that Falcone may be attempting to control food in Gotham. Now I really hope these drugs don't have anything to do with that because if they do…" Wayne left the left up to his butler's imagination.

"So what are you going to do in the mean time?" Alfred asked.

"Well, I figure I'll continue to patrol the city and try and gather as much information as possible. The last thing I want to do is make a stupid mistake and get caught." Bruce responded lazily.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck."

Laura got home and after her usual scan of the JLA system, checked her secure email. Her heartbeat accelerated as she saw an encoded message from one of her best sources: _Laura. Meet me on your roof at midnight._ After checking her watch, she sighed – still another 6 hours until midnight.

After changing of her work clothes, Laura sat in front of the TV intending in relax for a while. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her mind to slow down. It seemed like she had about five years of calm – and now Lex was after her and there was a new superhero in her home city.

She decided to pull out the diary Oliver had given her about 4 years ago to write in. He told her that _although the world can't know what she's really thinking or what she's been through, this little book can_. It had been a sweet gesture, but after a few days she didn't really think about it.

Now however, she needed a place to write down her thoughts so that she could straighten them out. Laura first wrote about Lex and how desperate he seemed to have gotten. She recalled back in the day when he acted like he could control the world. Then again, maybe he hasn't changed at all and only her perspective has.

Than she wrote about the Batman. She was intrigues by him. Of course, most superheroes she knew first hand so maybe it was the mystery about him that really riled her up. He seemed to know what he was doing sure but would he be able to save Gotham? Laura remembered the conversation she had with Oliver on the way to the gala and wondered if maybe this Batman could possibly be the one who could tear Gotham out of its endless dark age.

But then again, the Batman himself seems to have been born and bred of the dark age. His image itself invokes darkness. He even uses the darkness to help shield his movements and identity. Laura frowned. Perhaps this kind of hero was what it would take to clean up Gotham.

After writing about two pages in her journal, Laura drifted off to sleep on her couch, the TV still on low volume only 7 ft away. She woke up with a start and looked down at her watch: 11:30 PM. She breathed out a sigh of relief – this informant was good and would be suspicious if she didn't show up. Stretching, Laura headed towards the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee

She found herself staring at her watch every 3 minutes until at 11:45 she finally gave up and just headed up to the roof to wait. She was relieved to find it empty and sat down taking slow sips from her mug and making sure her pen worked. Finally, at 12:03 AM, a hooded short man suddenly appeared next to her.

Like most informants, he went by code name, "shorty". Laura herself didn't actually know his real name and didn't really think that it was all that important that she did. She nodded to the man who nodded back and lit up a cigarette.

"So, what have you got?" Laura asked clenching her pen and notebook, hoping her excitement wasn't obvious in her voice.

"This is a doozy. I don't know if I'll survive telling you this but here I go. Falcone has a – uh – _business_ arrangement from a big wig up at Food Stuffs. From what I gathered, he's planning on adding a drug to the basic ingredients that would be almost invisible but make the food extremely addictive." He let out fast, letting out a sigh in the form of a puff when he left it out.

"He's going to control the food industry by getting people addicted to his and _only_ his food. This is huge. I mean, really huge." Laura said, surprised.

"Yeah you know, usually I'd keep my mouth shut no offense but I do have some sense of morality and this isn't just about screwing over rivals. It's dangerous I mean, I do have kids to worry about." Shorty said, "look, I've gotta run. Good luck."

"Thanks." Laura whispered. Her head started running with all of implications of what he had told her. Sure, Falcone could easily gain a monopoly over food services in Gotham. But more than that, what if people didn't continue eating the drugged food? Would they go through withdrawal? The prospect of an unaware drug addicted city scared her enough to keep her distracted and therefore didn't notice when both she and the informant were pushed off the roof of her apartment building.

"Typical." She thought out loud. When suddenly she was swept away. Her first reaction was to fight it but then she realized the Batman probably saved her. However, she looked down and suddenly realized two things: number one, the Batman was carrying the informant away from the building and number two, she was climbing unnaturally fast.

A huge smiled formed and she turned and told her savior, "Nice to have you back."


	5. Chapter 5

Batman decided to start his patrol at around 11 PM that night. After stopping a few muggings, he figured he might as well do a little spy work while he was out. The first thing he noticed was a small commotion around Falcone. Silently parking his newly minted "Batmobile", he removed his listening device and eavesdropped.

"Good job. Well, now that we know how the little weasel has gotten her information, we can cut off her source, easy as that." Falcone said with a smirk on his face.

"Of course, sir, but they're meeting tonight. What do you wan't me to do?" Anders responded.

"Simple. We know who he is just follow him. Listen to what it is about. If it's innocuous, let them go their separate ways and send a message to the rat tomorrow. If it's concerning Project Wheaties, we can't have some nosy reporter knowing about that. Friday's 3 PM delivery _must_ go as scheduled." Falcone said. True, it was a risky move killing a star reporter but this venture into food industries was going to be one of his biggest stunts ever. Big but risky and if Laura Smith found it, that could be a problem.

Batman realized that this would be his opportunity to both find out what on earth was going on and ensure Laura Smith and the informant weren't hurt in the process. He dutifully followed Anders and another thug until he was about a block away from Laura's apartment. He was about to continue when he heard the cries for help. Wondering why so many people got mugged in a relatively good part of town, he hoped to quickly take care of the mugging before continuing on.

About five minutes later, Bruce had disarmed the mugger and ensured the scrawny boy he had saved got home alright. When he reached Laura's apartment building where he now only assumed the meeting would take place, he looked up just in time to see Falcone's men push Laura and the informant off the roof.

He didn't have much time to think. However, his training prepared him for this. On her trajectory, it would be nearly impossible to save Laura. The tiny man however could be easily saved. He simply needed to grapple a higher level of the fire escape and lasso him before he splattered on the ground.

As he lowered himself and the informant to the ground (the latter of whom was repeating "am I dead?" over and over) he suddenly realized he didn't hear a splat. He looked over to where Laura's dead body should lie and found the spot empty. Bruce took an inventory of his surroundings and then looked up to see a blue and red figure lowering itself down to Laura's rooftop – with Laura en tow.

His first reaction was to blink a lot to ensure he wasn't seeing things. Then he heard the informant go, "who the hell is _that_?" and he realized he was in fact seeing a man fly. A man in an awfully bright costume but a man nonetheless. He watched in awe as he placed Laura down and she gave him a big hug. A small smirk covered Batman's face – he'd rather be feared than get hugs. Grateful that Laura was saved, he turned around intending to interrogate the informant but realized he was long gone. Sighing, Batman sped home, making a mental note to figure out how a guy could fly.

"Clark!" Laura exclaimed after he lowered her to the ground. She was quickly engulfed in a giant bear hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you to Chlo – Laura. More than you know." He said, letting her go. Only them did she notice what he was wearing. A small chuckle escaped from her lips.

"Really Clark, a cape? And you do know that underwear goes on the _inside _of your clothes and not the outside." Laura informed him, obviously resisting breaking into full out hysterics

"It's called a disguise. I figured I should wear well – the least likely thing that Clark Kent would wear." Clark shrugged.

Now that Laura got a better look at him, she realized how different he looked – well, besides the costume. "Are you sure you've only been gone 3 years? You look like an entirely different man." Laura noted, frowning a little.

Clark sighed. "Well, For the first year I traveled the world. Saved people here and there but I really got a chance to see what Jor-el meant when he said that the world needed a light to guide the way. I met a lot of really amazing people Laura. So many people who just want to help, but they don't have the strength to back them up. And then I met some terrible people, who sought to exploit those who are weaker, and it made me angry. But I realized what I have to do. To save the world, I have to be more than some guy who saves a life here or there. Saving one life doesn't do anything. Showing the world that there is someone there who'll help, that they can fight for themselves – that's what's really important." Clark finished his tangent realizing that he never really answered the question. "Well, after that epiphany I headed to the fortress to start my training. I entered some trance which felt timeless to me but apparently lasted two years. However, apparently the stress of training aged me further. Don't worry though", he added seeing Laura's concerned face, "I'm not going to die soon or anything. I'm sure I'll still outlive everyone." He added a little bitter sweetly.

"Good to know…well, I'm happy for you. I guess you really needed to take that time away." Laura said with a little smirk.

"That reminds me. How have you stayed alive? I mean, I literally flew into Gotham to check on you when I saw you heading straight for the pavement." Clark exclaimed, wondering why he hadn't questioned her about this before.

"Well," Laura began, sitting down and picking up the mug of coffee she was drinking before the death attempt, "I just uncovered some information it seems the mob _really_ don't know anyone to know about. And I understand why."

"What is it?" Clark asked, now with a look of concern.

"You know, as much as I love watching your cape sway in the breeze, why don't we head into my apartment, where you can stop having to constantly check your surroundings." Laura suggested. Clark agreed and the two friends headed down to her apartment where the discussed her current predicament.

"Batman?" Clark looked at Laura skeptically.

"I know, right? I thought it was kind of ridiculous too. But especially after your little monologue earlier, it got me thinking. Yeah, you're a symbol of hope, a bright red a blue guy who flies around and shows people they don't have to submit. But in a place like Gotham, that would get no where. The people wouldn't trust it, or they simply wouldn't care. This place is so dark, they _need _something dark. To save Gotham, I guess the guy realized he had to be what the city needed." Laura concluded, looking at Clark meaningfully.

"Well you seem to have taken the leap from skeptic to believer with this guy. How about you go find him, ya know, figure out who he is?" Clark suggested.

"For what purpose? I'm not going to expose him, that would make me a hypocrite. And he doesn't exactly seem Justice League material, not yet at least. Why figure out who he is when obviously he doesn't want me to know?" Laura asked.

Clark chuckled, "You really do have honor. What I meant was if this Bat fellow went through the trouble to break into your apartment in the hopes of gathering a few sketchy facts on Falcone, then he wants the same thing as you – to make Gotham better. And while you might not fully trust him, this guy is your best shot at solving this food thing and hopefully knocking Falcone down a notch."

Laura stared at her muted TV pensively. Sure, she had thought of that, but her first thought was that Oliver would never be cool with that. But then again, he himself had all but said that she had jurisdiction over Gotham, and with Lex and his cronies about, it would be best if the Green Arrow and his bandits didn't make any nightly appearances (Victor was recovering from ensuring Laura there were no cameras who caught Laura and Oliver's interaction at work earlier that day). She shrugged, "Alright. Sounds like a plan. Now, since it was your plan, it will be your job to explain it to Oliver." Laura smiled.

Clark rolled his eyes, "It's probably for the best anyways. Hopefully he'll be excited enough that I'm back that he won't think twice about it. Regardless, I will have my eyes and ears open for you. Remember that. I should get going though. Speaking of Oliver, I need his helping figuring out how I'm going to make Clark Kent look different from Superman." He finished looking bored and somewhat horrified by the prospect.

Laura simply laughed, "Good luck, and I really am happy you're back!" Laura gave her best friend of over 12 years a hug and watched in awe as he flew towards Metropolis.

What Laura didn't realize was that else where in Gotham, Falcone was receiving a report that Laura knew his greatest secret and that she was saved by a flying man. After punching a wall, he ordered that he know everything there was to know about Laura Smith. He had to find a way to take care of her before she destroyed his plans.

"Master Bruce, as always it is good to see you return in one piece." Alfred said as Batman removed his cowl and transformed into Bruce Wayne. Only then did Alfred notice the look on his face – a mix of confusion and awe. "What exactly happened tonight?"

"What if I told you I saw a man who could fly?" Bruce asked. Alfred laughed but then noticed the look of utter seriousness on Bruce's face and immediately asked if he was serious, "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, with my cape I can more or less create the illusion of flying but this guy – I mean, he _really_ looked like he was flying."

"What do you intend to do about him?" Alfred asked curiously.

"Honestly, I doubt there's anything I can do. If he sticks around Gotham I'll try and confront him, figure out what his deal is but hopefully this was just a one night thing. Hey, maybe it was just a figment of my imagination, who knows. All I know is Falcone is planning something big, and it's going down in 3 days in broad daylight and I need to figure it out." Bruce sighed.

"Don't be so down on yourself. No one man can save the world." Alfred reminded him cheerfully.

Bruce was again awake earlier than expected the next morning and spent the majority of the day in his study, attempting to piece together the puzzle that lay before him. Sure, he had a date and time but that was useless if he didn't know the location. What on earth could Falcone be doing that he didn't have to hide under the guise of night? Perhaps this piece of information frightened Bruce the most.

After a fruitless day of research, Bruce decided to hit the streets. Tonight, however, his sole concentration would be on Falcone and his men – he needed to figure out what was going on that was worth killing two people over. He had parked and was getting out of his car when he heard her voice, "don't be afraid, I don't have a taser this time. We need to talk."

While Bruce spent the day running in circles, Laura actually made some substantial progress. Although if she admitted it to herself, it was really just dumb luck. One of her interns had just finished a bio on Bruce Wayne they were hoping would get published and begged Laura to read it. That is when she saw the picture of the boy Bruce Wayne had been. And she recognized him, not as the man she met at the gala who practically bathed in womanizer but as a boy in rage. He looked just like Clark the day he lost his parents.

Simply by opening herself up to the idea that Bruce Wayne could be similar to Clark Kent, Laura saw all of the pieces fit together. A man returns from a journey to find himself and has nothing to really say about it? And this Batman shows up almost concurrently?

Even though it made sense, she was still not sold on the idea until she read about his latest exploits. It turned out he now patrolled the streets in what is being referred to as "the coolest car ever" as Brad put it. From what she read about the Batman, either he himself was incredibly wealthy or he had a seriously awesome benefactor.

These pieces in addition to her knowledge of people like Oliver Queen made her feel stupid for not seeing it before. Sure, she thought there was something funny about Bruce Wayne but the front he put up for everyone was good enough to distract her from seeking the truth. Now the only question was, now that she figured it out what to do with that information?

At first, she figured knowing who Batman was would allow her to more easily find him. However, an attempted stealth trip to Wayne Manor yielded no results. She couldn't find a Batmobile or any Batman paraphernalia to bug. In addition, she knew going up to him and simply saying "I know who you are" would be stupid on a number of levels, the least of which being she didn't necessarily want him to figure out who _she_ was.

In the end, while it was cool to know that Batman was Bruce Wayne, the information itself wasn't that vital. In the end she went with plan B – which was to simply go where he was most likely to go.

At around 10 at night, she got on her bicycle and quietly rode down to the narrows. She was wearing black pants, a black shirt and even a black wig. Laura did indeed feel absolutely ridiculous. She arrived and quietly walked around, and found a secluded spot with a decent view of where Falcone was known to conduct business. She looked around and stood about 10 ft. away in a shadow, hoping the Batman would make an appearance and she could talk to him.

At about 11:30, her senses picked up a soft hum and the slight turn off of an engine. Moving as little as possible, she turned her head and confirmed it was the Batman. He appeared to be heading to the little nook she had established as a look out earlier. She pondered for a moment if maybe he actually created this spot for just this activity.

Unsure of what to say, Laura decided to go for ice breaker, "Don't be afraid, I don't have a taser this time. We need to talk." She told him.

Batman whipped his head around in surprise. Obviously, he didn't enjoy being taken by surprise by anyone, let alone a young reporter. "What are you doing here?" He asked her in a gruff voice.

Laura had to make a serious effort to stop the smirk that was forming on her face. "I came here to find you. I think we might be able to help each other." Batman didn't say anything but just stared at her impatiently. "Look, we both know Falcone's involved in something that could destroy this entire, I know what it is I just don't know how to stop it." That got the Batman's attention.

"What is it?" He asked.

Laura relaxed. This was the moment she was hoping for, when he gave her at least a dimes worth of trust. She handed him a few papers. "My informant told me that Falcone is planning on drugging the food supply of a chain of Gotham grocery stores called Food Stuffs. Food Stuffs sells primarily their own generic brand and so when people eat this drugged food, they will suddenly find themselves both physically and mentally addicted." She explained.

Bruce was stunned into silence. Sure, he imagine something terrible both this? It was utterly insane. Sure, it would give Falcone a monopoly over food in Gotham and inevitably make him rich, but the potential damage was astronomical. It could destroy the whole city.

Everything fit now. The delivery was most likely taking place at the Food Stuffs main plant and could be either an ingoing or outgoing delivery. No wonder the man he was working with seemed so scared. He was selling his soul to the devil – getting in bed with Falcone with the belief that his chain would prosper.

"So, what have you go?" Laura asked.

"Nothing. You should stay from this." Bruce told her. He was then surprised to hear her laugh and walk away. Although he could have sworn he heard her mutter 'why are they always like this?'.

"Wait" he shouted. This caused her to pause and turn around. "That guy who saved you, could he really fly?"

Laura's face turned into a smug smile, "I don't know, do you know many guys who can fly?" And she continued chuckling. Bruce couldn't help but laugh a little until she spoke again. "I'm sure you'll see him around again. Don't worry, he won't be in Gotham much." And she disappeared into the shadow.

That last statement shocked Bruce. How long did Laura talk to this flying man? And did she know him? There was something about this girl that just didn't click.

Laura was slightly shocked at how much she had told him. Then again, she figured it was guilt. She knew his secret she figured he deserved something. She hummed a little under her breath and hopped on her bike to ride home, hoping the Batman could stop Falcone.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day at work, Laura was anxious. Well, anxious is probably an understatement. She was constantly waiting for something to happen. Every time she heard the slightest semblance of excitement, she perked up and raced to the TV, only to discover it was nothing. Just an ordinary Wednesday. As much as she tried, she could hardly focus on work. She kept heading back to the news page and hitting refresh, hoping that something would come up.

One thing she knew, the Batman knew more than he let on. When she told him what she knew, Laura could practically hear the wheels clicking in place in his head. Perhaps that was the most frustrating part – not having all of the pieces.

Oh and of course there was the part where she was now on Falcone's hit list. She wasn't too worried about, Laura was pretty sure at least two superheroes were on the case at all times but it was never really that comforting to think that somebody wanted you dead. The combination in addition to that tiny fact of Lex's manhunt for her made focusing on her fluff pieces the Gazette called articles hard.

"Laura? LAURA?" She practically jumped in the air and took a defense stand.

"Geesh Brad, you scared the life out of me!" Laura responded, shaking her head in obvious annoyance.

"Seriously? What's up with you? I've never seen you so – out of it." Brad told her, his eyes revealing his genuine concern. Laura was taken aback. This leap into what felt like her old life made her forget that as much as she missed Metropolis, there were some really great things in Gotham and she even had a few friends.

"I dunno, I guess just a lot on my mind." Laura said, hoping Brad wouldn't dwell.

"Alright well, if you want, you can come with me to Food Stuffs. They're announcing the new CEO, Courtland Anderson or something pompous like that." The mention of Food Stuffs alerted Laura to what was going on. Of course, she knew this announcement was going to be made but since it wasn't exactly front page news she more or less forgot.

"You know, that sounds like a great idea. I should get out of this stuffy news room anyways." Laura said while grabbing her coat and following Brad out the door. When she got in the passenger seat of his Toyota, she immediately started tapping her fingers against the window. Yes, it felt good to be out of the office and actually doing something but she just wanted answers. She was sick of waiting.

About twenty minutes later, the two pulled up at the Food Stuffs warehouse and stood with the other members of the media while waiting for this Anderson guy to show himself. About fifteen minutes after they arrived, the few hundred people there consisting mostly of employees broke out into applause.

"Thank you all so much for coming. My name is Christian Anderson ('I knew it was something poupous!' exclaimed Brad followed by a bunch of 'shhhhs') and I want to welcome you to a new era!" He raised his hands as if to give credence to what he was saying and after about 20 seconds the applause died down. "Food Stuffs is unique. We're a company that started in Gotham, spread through Gotham, and thrived in Gotham. Hence, it only seems right that we should give back to the city that has given so much. I proudly announce that in two days, we will begin a campaign to donate food and other supplies to the homeless and others who need it!" The crowd once again broke into applause.

Laura didn't really listen to the rest of the speech but just stared. Two days. _Two days_. What was the significance of that? She began to feel Brad's head turn toward her so she began smiling and breaking into applause for show. She was forced into making small talk about the little nuances in the speech and therefore didn't notice Bruce Wayne blending in with the shadows. Unlike Laura, he had finally put it all together – he found Falcone's 'partner'.

Two days later, Laura woke with a start. She had a dream (or a nightmare, in a way) where she and the Batman were at a tea party and Lex Luther showed up – with hair. It was all very strange and very disturbing. She felt great to be awake.

And then she remembered it was Friday. She looked at her clock; it was only 5 AM. She figured in about three ours she'd call in sick to work, send in her completed story, and head to the Food Stuffs warehouse in the hope of finding out what was going on.

Until then, she took one last look at all of her notes and research, despite the fact that she practically knew it all by heart at this point. Going to Food Stuffs today was probably a long shot, but she had a hunch and she knew she would never get any work done anyways.

After picking up an Americano at the local coffee shop, she headed to Food Stuffs and found a secluded area to watch. Feeling anxious and a little worried about her lack of knowledge of the situation, she used her cell phone to post a status update on the Watchtower server. She wasn't usually so responsible, but then again she didn't feel like dying today.

By the time 11 AM rolled around, she half considered heading to work saying she felt better. She saw a few deliveries come by, watched as the various employees sat outside on their smoke breaks complaining about work, and what one would expect to go on in a factory that makes food. By 1 PM, she was starving. She realized this was all in all a terrible plan since she had no idea what time anything was down (let alone if it was going down), but at this point she was afraid to leave.

Finally, 3 PM rolled around. At first nothing was obvious except to her. She noticed a massive amount of new employees heading in for a shift but none of the employees inside left. Then she heard a massive commotion, a lot of people running outside, and an explosion. Without really thinking she ran towards the building to figure out what was going on.

When Bruce's alarm clock went off that same day at 11 AM, he was already awake. He knew more or less what to expect – this is the day Falone's big plan went into action. Instead of his full on Batsuit, he wore a capeless outfit that would allow for more movement. When 2:00 PM rolled around, he felt a mix of fear and excitement for what was to come.

Everything seemed normal at the factory, more or less business as usual. And then he spied Falcone in the passenger seat of a massive truck hidden from plain view. He realized about 15 mobsters (one he recognized as Anders' associate) dressed as workers at the factory get out of the truck.

He then noticed on the other side a small innocuous trailer housing what appeared to be the same drug he sold to the man the other night. A set of men wearing delivery outfits appeared to be finishing moving all of the boxes inside. It seemed as though Falcone's men themselves would be ensuring the drugs mixed in with the food.

He decided he needed to get into the factory, in order to see what was going on. Unfortunatly, with the sun still bright in the sky it was be harder for him to do this without being seen. Bruce managed to successfully get into the building and from there was able to discern where the boxes containing the drugs were being held and where the plant was that would create the drugged food.

Bruce had to make a split second decision. He knew it would be too dangerous just to witness this or to take a sample and try this the legal way. If any of the contaminated food made it to the public, the repercussions would be unimaginable. Preparing himself, Bruce quickly pulled the fire alarm and ran to the room where the drugs were. He lit the boxes on fire, watching him burn.

Bruce Wayne wasn't an overly optimistic person and therefore he wasn't all that surprised when a 10 man guard unit entered demanding him to freeze. After sending 4 bat boomerangs at every other guard he took advantage of their paused surprise and disarmed another three. The remaining three guards started shooting at him but Bruce was able to disarm them quite quickly.

Only then did Bruce realized he had bun shot – twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. He was already started to bleed quickly and he knew he didn't have much time until the factory blew. He looked around at the guards, those who had recovered appeared to have lost interest in the mysterious man and had run for their lives expecting the blast. Survival instincts kicked in and Bruce did all he could to follow.

Bruce made it outside right before the blast but knew it wasn't enough. He collapsed to the floor; he didn't even have enough energy to contact Alfred. Knowing he'd protected Gotham, he figured he had died a noble death and hoped that someone would have acknowledged him. Perhaps Laura would make the world realize Batman protected them and maybe people would get hope from it. As his conciousness faded he noticed an angel approach him.

"Oh no. Uh, Batman, please don't die." He heard the panicked angel say. Against the sunlight he could only make out blonde hair and a white pant suit. He laughed; she wasn't an actual angel. Before he passed out he heard her say "you're going to be okay" and then he felt himself engulfed in a ray of light. 'Huh, this is what death is like…it's not that bad' he thought to himself before completely passing out.

After finding Batman on the ground, Laura first attempted to manually stop the bleeding. After realizing he was dying and seeing inhis eyes that were drifting in and out of consciousness she realized there was only one thing to do. She quickly called Bart, "Bart – I need you to come get me and someone else. We're at Food Stuffs and hurry. Bring me home and drop him off at Bruce Wayne's house. No it's not him – look there's no time for questions hurry!" She said and hung up and placed her hands over the two injuries that threatened to threaten Batman.

She didn't hesitate. Sure, she'd healed people before, but this was a guy she barely knew. But she knew enough about him to know that this was the right thing. Batman was an important symbol for Gotham and if they lost him now, it would be so horrible. Any hope he brought would be lost and the was just too high a price. She held a man who was so selfless and so passionate that he would easily give his life for the city he cared about. If anyone could save the world, it was someone like that.

After she healed him, Laura felt her body enter into an immense amount of pain. She could only fight it off for a few seconds until her body gave in and she collapsed right beside him; the last thing she saw was a panicked Bart.

Alfred attended his usual chores in the mansion, trying to give off the air of boredom but in reality all he felt was uneasy. Sure, he knew it was only 3:20, and whatever was going to go "down" was probably still going down, but something in his gut wasn't sitting well.

He was contemplating driving out to the Food Stuffs warehouse when a chime informed him the front door had been opened. Breaking his daze, he headed straight to the front door, but paused when he reached the living room. On the couch, Bruce Wayne lay perfectly still looking exactly as he did when he left – only covered in blood.

Alfred hurried to the couch and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Bruce was still alive. He carried, well dragged, Bruce to his bedroom and took off the limited body armor and face mask he was wearing. After removing his undershirt, Alfred took a step back as he noticed despite the red blood stains that soaked his shirt, he didn't appear to have a scratch on him.

"Alfred?" Bruce asked, apparently trying to rest his eyes.

"Relax Master Bruce, you've been through quite the ordeal." Alfred commanded him.

"Am I dead?" He asked, sitting up now. Bruce looked down at his torso and noticed the blood stains and the lack of bullet hole. Then he looked up and saw Alfred's confused and concerned face. "I'm not dead am I?" Alfred simply shook his head no. "Well then how am I alive?"

"I was going to ask you that same question." Alfred responded with raised eyes.

"I lit the drugs on fire and was shot twice. I managed to get out of the building before it blew and I remember lying there when some girl – she was blonde and wearing all white – came up to me. I thought she was an angel. I started feeling all warm and I figured I died and that's the last thing I remembered." Bruce recalled, obviously confused. "Wait, how did I get here?"

"I have no bloody idea, I was cleaning the kitchen one minute and the next your lying on the couch." Bruce simply frowned.

After a long, soapy shower, Bruce had a bite to eat and decided to try and figure out what had happened to him. However, after reviewing the tapes, he was only more confused. The tape made it look like the wind blew the door open and momentarily Bruce's body appeared on the couch. "That's impossible." Was all Bruce could say.

"What happened?" Clark and Oliver both asked at virtually the same time to Bart who was doing his own super speed version of pacing. The two had been trying to get Bart to stop running for the past twenty minutes. Finally Clark grabbed him and forced him to stop. Bart looked like a wreck.

"Look, I was in LA you know getting my tan on when I get a call from Chloe – I mean Laura. She said she needed me to pick up her and her friend and bring her here and her friend to Bruce Wayne's place. I tried to ask her who her friend was and she said it wasn't important. When I found her there was blood everywhere but the guy appeared to be alright." Bart told them and was about to take off again but was held back by Clark's arm.

Both Clark and Oliver looked at each other and realized what they thought happened was in fact what _did_ happen. Laura, once again, died in order to heal someone. "So, who was the guy?" Oliver asked. His voiced hinted at anger towards whoever caused her to do this.

"I'm not sure, but I think it was that Batdude." Bart told the. Oliver continued pacing while Clark held Bart in place.

"I'm going to go over there and find out what happened." Oliver said while grabbing his coat and walking out the door.

"Wait." Clark said, letting go of Bart who immediately began super speeding around the room again. "Think about it, what will your going over there accomplish?"

"I can find out what the hell happened to one of my closest friends." Oliver said, more or less enrages.

"But here me out. He might not even know Laura did it. She's wearing her blonde wig – she was obviously trying to feel more like her old self for some odd reason. If he was dying, he might have thought anything. If you walk in their now demanding an explanation you might just make everything that much more complicated." Clark pointed out.

"Clark's right." All eyes turned to face the bed as Laura tried to use her elbows to pull herself up. "Besides, I was only dead for what, 3 hours? Really not a big deal." The room was screaming in silence. All three men stared at her with eyes so solemn and serious it truly frightened her. "Okay, you guys are scaring me." She told them. As if on cue, they all softened up and rushed her to make sure she was alright.

After about five minutes, the boys were ready for an explanation. Laura sighed and began, "Alright so you all know how I've been investigating Falcone?" both Oliver and Clark nodded in acknowledgement and Bart sort of shrugged. "Well, I as I told Clark the other night, I found out he was planning on drugging Food Stuffs food so people would be addicted to only Food Stuffs therefore giving him and Food Stuffs a huge advantage over their competitors. Well, a few night ago, I went out and found the Batman and told him this and when I did, I could tell it was the final piece to something he put together. But like most superheroes, he chose not to tell me what he knew.

"So, I went to a Food Stuffs conference for the new CEO and they mentioned Friday and something about the way he said it hit a nerve and I had a hunch something was going down. So I got there this morning and sat around and waited for something to happen. Right before the explosion, I noticed a massive shift change, only it wasn't because about 15 or so men went in, and none went on. And then, boom!" She used hand motions in case the word wasn't enough. "You know me, I started running towards it and no one was really paying attention since they were all running for their lives. I found Batman and knew I had to heal them. I decided to be smart and call Bart first and here we are." Laura told them. Her face grew a little bit more serious, "Do you know if everyone got out before the explosion?"

"Of course that would be the first thing you asked," Oliver said with a smile, "apparently, a fire alarm went off about 5 minutes before the explosion, as a result, the majority of the people in the factory got outside. There were a few injuries for those who barely got away but it looks good so far." Laura sighed in relief.

"So, Bruce Wayne is Batman?" Oliver suddenly asked to brighten the mood.

"Man, I was trying so hard not to tell you guys. I don't have confirmation but I'm like 99.9% sure." Laura responded, smiling.

"Well don't worry, we won't say a word." Oliver said. The others confirmed this and all started laughing. Despite the fact they each had places they really should have been, Clark, Oliver, and Bart stuck around Gotham for the next few hours. They claimed they didn't want to have traveled all this way for nothing but in reality, they just wanted to make sure their friend was okay. Finally, at around 7:40 PM, Clark's face lit up in alarm.

"What, does someone need saving?" Laura asked.

"Actually, if my ears aren't playing tricks, Lois is screaming help," Clark said seriously, "It's been wonderful catching up, but I've got to run." And with that, the three watched as Clark spun into his costume and flew out the door.

"So you think he realizes that he just heard Lois scream for help from Gotham and we're supposed to believe he's not in love with her?" Oliver asked. Laura just responded with a deep laugh. It was nice to feel like everything was alright.

"What is the media saying about the explosion?" Laura asked.

"Actually, it's quite interesting. They credit the explosion to Batman but it's not all in a negative light. Some of the men at the hospital in Food Stuffs uniforms are reported mobsters and many have no record of working for Food Stuffs. That in addition to the fire alarm going off before the actual fire are leading to people believing Batman was doing something for the overall good and that something amiss was going on." Oliver responded. Laura's face revealed how impressed she was. Apparently, people in Gotham were less cynical than she thought.

"Well, then, I've got a lot of work to do." Laura said and then got up to head to her computer. Bart and Oliver just looked at each other, realizing this was their cue to leave.

"Hopefully we'll see you soon. And please – call if you need anything." Oliver told her seriously and then two left. Laura looked around, feeling stupid as she made sure she wasn't being watched and pulled out a vile she had found on Batman when she healed him. Smiling she called up her chemical guy.

"I know it's late, but I need this analyzed! Like right now! Trust me, it's worth it." Laura said as she hung up the phone and began writing the story.

------

Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't keep up with the once a day - I've been pretty busy. Also, the whole make the food addictive storyline was inspired by Stargate SG-1.


	7. Chapter 7

"_And people all around the world are talking about the flying man who saved the lives of 360 people on a 747 last night"_ Laura heard when she woke up. At first she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Then she realized it was coming from her alarm clock. Flying man? She rushed to the TV and put on a huge smile when she saw what had happened. Clark had finally gone public. 'I'm so proud of you' Laura thought as she turned off the TV and started to get ready for work.

She had finished the article the night before, all she needed was the analysis of the substance she found and the article could go to print. True, she couldn't mention Falcone since it was all for the most part either heresay or circumstantial, but it would at least implicate the guy in charge of Whole Foods and force the people to ask the question who was trying to get those drugs in the people in the first place.

At about 9:30 AM, her work phone rang and she picked up before the end of the first ring.

"Matt?" She asked,

"Whose Matt? New boyfriend?" Lois asked.

"Lois! Oh my god, I thought you weren't supposed to call." Laura asked.

"Well, with all the excitement going on, Oliver found a way to make this call super secure. Apparently, it's a massive pain though so he says this may be our last talk for a while." Lois informed her.

"Well I'm glad you called! I just finished reading your article on – Superman? Is that it?" Laura asked.

"Yeah! Can you believe it? He actually saved me! I was trying to get some information, you know, one thing led to another and I got shot at and the next thing I know this guy has me in his arms and…you have to meet this guy Chl – Laura. He's something else." Lois rambled out.

"I believe you," Laura told her, knowingly, "so what else is going on?"

"You'll never believe this, guess who came back from his trip around the world?" Lois asked.

"Clark?" Laura responded, unsure how to answer.

"Exactly. And guess where he's working?" Lois asked but this time Laura just stumbled having no idea what to say, "Right across from me." Lois responded in a voice that sounded annoyed.

"Well, I'm sure everything will work out Lois. It always does. Boy do I miss you." Laura said thinking fondly of her cousin when she heard a low beep in her ear. "Lois, I love you I really do, but I'm getting a _really_ important phone call right now."

"Matt?" Laura asked, feeling stupid again for assuming it was him.

"Yeah it's me. You're not going to believe these results." His voice told that he was both excited, anxious, and extremely annoyed at the moment.

"Excellent. I'm standing by the fax machine." Laura told him and hung up. Almost immediately, pages started streaming out of the fax machine. Laura hastily read them and almost kissed the intern when she was done – she had the proof she needed.

Laura marched up to Larry Stein's office with a feeling of accomplishment. When he told her to come in, she put the article on his desk, let him read it through, and then watched as looks of horror and excitement came over his face.

"How on earth did you get this article? And so fast?" Stein asked.

"Well to be honest, it was part of my Falcone investigation. Only problem is I have no proof of that link so as you can tell I just tried to imply that there _is_ something else at work." Laura pointed out.

"Really? I couldn't tell." Larry said with a face of total seriousness which Laura realized meant not to question his ability to read. "What can I say Smith? You never cease to amaze me." And with that, Laura Smith's article was about to be on the front page of the Sunday Edition of the Gotham Gazette.

Carmine Falcone was many things. A mobster for one, but he also loved a good story. While he read the front page of the Sunday gazette, he couldn't help but notice how well researched and well written it was. That Laura Smith sure was a good reporter.

Of course, these facts were quickly overshadowed by the actual substance to the piece. His plans to transform Food Stuffs from a second rate grocery store into the only place the people of Gotham would shop for food blew up in his face (literally – he was only 10 ft from the explosion). And it appeared as though this reporter had at least some part in it. Worst of all – he had received a report from Anders that the damned Batman had been killed but his heroics were still making front page news.

As Falcone crumpled up the newspaper, Anders slowly crept towards him, head low. "Sir, here's everything we could find on Laura Smith – I gotta tell you, it's a little sketchy. I tried contacting a few of these references and things just don't add up."

Falcone looked up and grabbed the papers out of the lackey's hand. "Let me see this, everything before the Gotham Gazette is unverifiable? How is that possible?"

"Well actually, Mr. Queen's office first denied her working for them but then called back to say she did. And there was a Laura Smith but no record of a transcript at school or anything. If you ask me, it doesn't look like Laura Smith exists." Anders' told him, his face obviously afraid he was going to be in trouble.

"So you're telling me five years ago, Laura Smith moves into a cushy apartment in Gotham City and gets a job at the Gotham Gazette but before that she was – oh I don't know – someone else?" Falcone asked, his face getting excited.

"Yes sir."

"I need something – it's a file Lex Luthor dropped off about a week ago, I remember looking at it and then throwing it by my cigar box." Falcone asked, gesturing with his hand it was a rush.

Anders' quickly found the file and handed to Falcone whose face lit up, "I just figured out how we're going to get rid of Ms. Laura Smith without lifting a finger. Or should we say Chloe Sullivan. I need to get in contact with Lex Luthor right away."

"Chloe Sullivan is Laura Smith. Are you sure?" Lex Luthor's heart was racing faster than he knew possible. If Falcone was right, which judging by the evidence the mobster had shown him he probably was, he would be able to have Chloe Sullivan imprisoned by that night. Sure, Lex felt kind of stupid she duped him and that he hadn't put the pieces together before but he always imagined Chloe Sullivan in actual hiding rather than hiding in plain sight.

Lex hastily hung up the phone and called to his assistant, "I need you to assemble a retrieval team. Make it double the men as usual – we need this to go off without a hitch." And with a quick nod from the young man, Lex sat down in his chair and enjoyed the feeling of eminent success.

"Master Wayne, I understand you are fully healed however that happened, but that does not mean you must spend every minute out patrolling the streets of Gotham!" Alfred tried to say.

"Look Alfred, it's important that people know I'm still alive. After the explosion, some people were saying I died and – well – I don't want that rumor to catch." Bruce argued.

"All I'm saying is that maybe you should try and figure out how you're alive. Oh and how you miraculously appeared on the couch." Alfred suggested lightly. He had mentioned it a few times before and each time Bruce simply shrugged it off.

"I know," Bruce sighed, "there's a lot that's been happening lately that I don't understand. Did you see the Daily Planet article this morning?"

"I did indeed. I guess there really is a man who can fly." Alfred responded. "Perhaps if there's a man who can fly there's an angel who can heal." The older man suggested lightly.

Bruce simply stared at the old man and suddenly recalled a file. He ran up and gave Alfred a small hug which nearly gave him a heart attack. "You're a genius!" Bruce told him and then ran off to the study to grab the folder on Chloe Sullivan.

So maybe this girl really had some healing ability which was why Lex Luthor was after. And obviously she was in Gotham considering _he_ was currently alive. But why did she save him? He knew he was missing something obvious – it was right at the tip of his tongue. He was on the verge of an epiphany when his police scanner went off._ 'There's been a disturbance at 1455 West Elen St…'_ and Bruce suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

Alfred noticed and frowned at him in question. "That's where Laura Smith lives. I guess her article must have created a stir. I have to help her." Bruce responded and ran down to the caves to change into his gear.

Laura spent her entire Sunday fielding phone calls from coworkers and friends who wanted to congratulate her. She had to admit, she felt pretty proud of the work she had done and felt it was the first step to putting down Falcone for good. Enjoying the day off, Chloe ordered in Chinese take out for dinner and was comfortably lounging on the couch in sweats.

When Lex's team broke through her door, after a moment's panic her next impulse was to roll her eyes at the irony that the first day in a while she felt truly at peace would be the day that he would find her. Thinking fast, she sprinted to her small watchtower control and pressed the panic button.

By the time the button had been pressed three of the men had her pinned to a wall and there was nothing she could do, try as she might, to get away. And then she heard him clapping, "Well done, you've captured the elusive Chloe Sullivan. Get her out of here fast before her _friends_ show up." Lex said before immediately vacating the area. On her way out, Laura let a small smile form on her face while looking up at at an apparently blank spot on the wall.

The abduction all in all went down pretty smoothly and quietly. The majority of Laura's neighbors continued on with their nightly activities none the wiser. They were just about out the building when suddenly Lex's men were one by one being beaten down by a mysterious force. "It's one of _them_. Lex said disgusted. "Just don't freak out and get her to the car as fast as possible." Lex was getting a little annoyed, the noise level was now high enough that some curious neighbors might be tempted to look out their windows. But then again, this was Gotham so the people would more than less likely not say anything.

What Lex didn't realize was that the disturbance Bart was creating was enough for Laura to wiggle out of the hold the two distracted guard held on her. Once her arms were free, she elbowed both guards as hard as she could, removed the duct tape over her mouth, and started screaming and running as hard as possible. Of course, Lex would realize at once what was going on but she was hoping that some public attention would help her in this situation.

It had. One of Laura's neighbor's on the first floor who was quite fond of Laura and a fan of her work as a reporter heard the screams and immediately called 911. Within minutes, the police were on the scene but by then Laura and Lex were out of sight.

Now in a small park area near her apartment, she heard Lex taunt her with, "Come out come out wherever you are." Currently hiding behind a tree, she had to start to figure out a game plan. She knew she would be caught sooner or later, every minute another of Lex's guards were gaining consciousness. Bart had apparently left, presumably to apprise Oliver and the rest of the situation and hopefully to get some stronger reinforcements.

She decided to keep running. Laura's greatest advantage for the moment was that Lex needed her alive. More than her DNA, Lex needed the knowledge she held or regardless of her situation he would be in jail. So she started running as fast she could, now back towards the apartment complex where she heard sirens. She was almost to the edge of the park when she was knocked down by one of Lex's men and lost consciousness.

"Good work, Ames." Lex told the man who maintained a gun pointed at the unconscious girl. "Not so fast now, are ya?" He told her. The group of about 11 men plus Lex carried Laura through the park and away from the cops. Little did they know the Batman had arrived and was tracking their whereabouts, prepared to strike the moment he could gain the advantage.

"You LEFT here there?" Oliver asked on the phone with Bart. As soon as he got the 911, he immediately hopped on a plane to Gotham, aware that he would probably get there to late but also aware he wouldn't be able to handle staying away.

"Calm down, I made sure Chloe had gotten away first. I KNOW he'll probably catch her again but I was going to get caught if I hung around too long so I figured it would be smart to grab Supes first." Bart explained.

"Seriously, your calling him that ridiculous name Lois came up with?" Oliver asked incredulously. "Anyways back to the point. Did you find him?"

"I'm looking for him right now, I'll let you know the next time I have something to report." Bart responded and continued super speeding around Metropolis. Finally, he found Clark on the rooftop of the daily planet. He watched for a second as Lois Lane walked down the stairs.

"Giving her an interview?" Bart asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I'm giving the public what they want." Superman responded, with his hands on his hips.

"I'll make fun of you for that later. Chloe's in trouble." And with that, they both took off – Superman by air and Impulse by ground.

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A/N: I'm terrible - taking forever to type this up, I know. But in my defense, my work schedule dramatically changed recently and I'm still adjusting. However, I'm planning on spending my day off finishing this story so ideally the last couple chapters should be up by next week.


	8. Chapter 8

Lex had arranged for the van to move from a secluded alley a block away from Laura's apartment to a street corner on the other side of the wooded area they were currently walking through. Unfortunately, when the team reached the van, all the tires were blown and the driver was unconscious. "What the hell is going on?" Lex said, annoyed that everything wasn't going to plan.

"Lex Luthor." Lex jumped at the sound of his name and then turned to see the Batman standing right in front of him.

"Get him!" Lex said, angrily pointing at Bruce. While Lex's men rushed the shadowey figure, Batman let loose some smoke bombs making it impossible for them to see where he was. Then, he quickly disabled about half the guards hoping to take advantage of their lack of sight. After the smoke cleared, he quickly engaged in hand to hand combat taking five of them down without a struggle. However, the last one was putting up one hell of a fight.

"You can't win." Lex said, with a pleased smirk. Bruce could feel the gun against the back of his head and knew he had no choice but to surrender. He looked at Laura, helplessly lying on the ground and was just hoping she would wake up so she could get away and it would all be worth it. Lex was about to swing the gun against his head and knock him out when the gun mysteriously disappeared from his friend. "What the -?" Lex asked and soon noticed Ames knocked out, and Superman standing in between him and Batman.

"Lex Luthor. I wish I could say it was a pleasure." Superman said.

"What are you going to do? Kill me? You can't lock me up." Lex told him with a smirk.

As if on cue, Laura chose them to gain consciousness, "Sure he can. I have cameras in my apartment. The police will know if was you who kidnapped me – it's over Luthor."

Being Lex Luthor, he could never admit defeat so he started running – a fruitless effort in reality as he was soon carried back by Superman. Batman immediately took out a phone and started dialing 911 and let them know where they were. The two superheroes tied up Lex and his cronies and only then acknowledged the other.

"Look, I really should get going. This is your city you should take the credit." Superman said, looking at Laura. "Make sure she gets home safe. She's a very important person. I'll be nearby until I know she's safe." And with that he flew upwards, with Bruce left to only look up and stare.

When the police arrived, Batman gave a brief statement and then took off, leaving Laura to fill in the details. She told them about the cameras at her apartment and soon enough, the police had them and were able to use them to immediately arrest Lex Luthor. Kicking and screaming, Lex vowed revenge on both Batman and Superman for stopping him.

After Laura got through with the police, she was finally able to go back to her apartment. Of course when she walked in, Oliver and Clark were both there waiting.

"You guy know, I'm okay." Laura told them with a small smile.

"We know, it's just – we didn't want to come all the way to Gotham without seeing you." Oliver said as an excuse.

"Besides, we were really worried." Clark pointed out.

"That's really sweet and all – I really appreciate it but can you be worried _without_ me? I've never been so tired in my life." Laura pleaded. The boys chuckled, gave her a hug, and promised to be close by and walked out of the apartment. Laura sighed a breath of relief. She was finally going to get some sleep after the night's ordeal.

When Laura finally woke up the next morning, it was to the giggling sound of her cousin in the next room. Excitement was soon replaced by the surprise that Lois was actually in her apartment in Gotham. She slowly tip toed her way out of the bedroom and into the living room and realized Lois was pacing in front of the TV on the phone.

"Clark, it was a good story. I'm not mad – I promise, I did get the headline after all…Okay kiddo, I gotta go." Lois said and then rolled her eyes and turned to Laura. "I knew I heard the door creak open." The older cousin smiled.

"Caught," Laura said and smiled, "what on earth are you doing here?"

"Hello? The prince of Metropolis caught in city of darkness? I bet every good investigative reporter is trying to get to the bottom of the story," Lois said with a completely serious look on her face, "I'm kidding of course. You see, my little cousin is apparently so important that Lex did everything in his power to find her and she was almost kidnapped so I'm here because I love her?"

"Thanks Lois." Laura said before pulling her cousin into a massive hug. "So, what's the word been?" Lois shoved a copy of the Daily Planet as well as the Gotham Gazette.

"Whoops! I meant to show you the article at the _bottom_ of the front page," Lois dramatically flipped the paper over. Laura briefly noted the words 'interview' and 'superman' and made a mental note to check it out. At the bottom, Laura quickly glanced over an article written by Clark about how Lex Luthor had finally gone off the deep end. It included information about his arrest the last night as well as what he's susptected of.

"I thought this was supposed to be your story?" Laura asked Lois, a little suspicious.

"Well – it was but I got a bigger one and so I gave this one over to Clark. Besides, I had to catch the first flight to make sure you were alright. You are alright – right?" Lois asked, taking a seat on the couch and motioning for Laura to do the same

"Yeah, of course I am. I mean, you remember life growing up in Smallville – I'm pretty used to having my life in danger or being kidnapped." Laura told her, chuckling a little as memories of the past filled her mind.

"Little Green sources tell me not one but _two_ costumed men saved your life last night. Dish." Lois insisted – now comforted by the fact she really was okay, happy to indulge in the _important_ things.

"Honestly, I don't remember much. I was knocked out for that part of the fight. I woke up, said something corny to Luthor, then Superman flew off. Batman was usual – dark and trying to be scary." Laura said – in actual honesty.

"Hm." Was all Lois said in response, just a little bit suspicious. Conversation nevertheless went on for a few more hours until Lois had to go to the airport. It was only about 3:00 in the afternoon and Laura was sick of trying to find things she could do. She knew what she had to do and figured it had better be now rather than later.

Bruce awoke immediately following the buzzing of his alarm clock at 11:00 AM. His first in instinct was to check the morning paper to ensure that the previous evening's events were more than just a dream. He sat down, skimming through the gazette's blasé article about the arrest when Alfred walked in.

"I would recommend the Daily Planet Article – it is _much _better written." He told the young billionaire.

"Too bad Laura was apart of this story – she would have written a good piece." Bruce responded.

"So would you like to fill in the dots to what happened last night?" Alred asked him.

"Well, to put it simple, Laura Smith is Chloe Sullivan." Bruce replied bluntly. Alfred looked surprised and mumbled something along the lines of 'are you sure'. "I've never seen anyone as…heinous as Luthor. He had this massive force to kidnap her and it was all so – extravagant? I didn't even get away." He added. He responded to Alfred's confused glare by continuing, "What the papers haven't said is that Superman showed up, right in the nick of time. And then he said something to me – saying this Laura chick was really important and I guess that confirmed it for me. She's gotta be Chloe Sullivan.

"But if Laura Smith is Chloe Sullivan who saved your life then somehow brought you back here…" Alfred began.

"Than she knows who I am." Bruce put simply. Alfred looked unsure of what to say.

Of all the situations where a reporter found out his night time activities, this was probably the last he would have expected. Sure, he had thought of the situation where an overzealous reporter followed him around and figured it out or something along those lines and threatened to expose him but this was entirely different.

Laura Smith wasn't some tabloid reporter out to make a name for herself or destroy him. Apparently, she just stumbled upon the truth in her own adventure. He wasn't really to concerned about her. What did concern him was her friends. The FBI report described her as being some sort of confidante to superheroes which made him worry that others knew who he was.

Unwilling to let his mind plague him with fears of what could be he decided to distract himself with a good, _long _workout.

At about 3:15 PM, Alfred heard the doorbell and strolled to the front door, a little anxious to see who was there. When he noticed a small brunette outside, he felt both anxious and relieved.

"Hi. My name is…Laura Smith. I was hoping to have a chance to talk to Mr. Wayne about something personal." She asked him sounding both nervous and polite. Alfred nodded his head knowingly and let her in.

"Please have a seat on the couch. I'll let him know you're here. Is there anything I can get you?" He asked attempting to play the role of curteous butler.

"No thank you." She responded and immediately sat down and started twiddling her thumbs anxiously.

After an excrutiatingly long 3 minutes, Alfred returned to inform her Bruce would be out momentarily. He then left her alone once again to try and figure out for the hundredth time what to say.

Bruce Wayne walked into his own living room feeling – for lack of a better word – awkward. Sure, he'd met this reporter a couple of times before but for the first time the two were truly meeting fact to face. Similarly, Laura felt exposed – naked really. For the first time in five years, someone knew her as more than lucky star reporter Laura Smith and it scared her.

"I'm sorry." Laura said to break the ice. She wasn't sure what she was apologizing for but she felt she should say it.

Bruce's face went from awkward to confused. "Why are you sorry?"

"It's just – I figured out you're secret? And I didn't tell you?" Laura mumbled out obviously not sure herself what she was sorry for.

Bruce started to feel a little more comfortable with the realization she was _just_ as uncomfortable as he was. "You really shouldn't apologize. I mean, had you walked up to me and said 'I know you're batman' I probably wouldn't have reacted so well." Bruce stated which proceeded to lighten the mood. Laura chuckled at that. "So, 'Laura', what exactly should I call you?" Wayne asked.

"Good question. Honestly, either Laura or Chloe is fine." Laura responded.

Sick of all of the tip toeing Bruce finally asked a big question. "What happened that night?"

Laura breathed in a sigh and began, "I assume you're talking about the night you died?" She paused for a moment to see his shock that he died and silently swore to herself. "Well, by saving Gotham from Falconi's ridiculous food scheme, you were shot multiple times and suffered severe burns. By the time I got to you, you were just about dead. I called a friend then healed you." Laura responded.

"You called a friend?" Bruce asked a little confused.

"Well, you see, when I heal people it's not just some magical poof your healed thing, I literally take on the wounds then heal them myself. Therefore, I needed someone to pick me up before I was tossed in the morgue again." Laura responded trying to act all non chalant.

"So you're friend what, teleported me into my house?" Bruce asked half joking and half serious.

Laura laughed, "Na, that was a good friend we call Impulse. Let's just say, he's faster than the blink of a camera shutter."

"Good to know. Sorry to sound severe, but how many of your friends know about me?" Bruce asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I told Impulse not to tell anyone but when I was dead I think he freaked out and told the Green Arrow. I really wouldn't worry about it although I know it's in your nature to worry. They really are good people and would protect your secret with their lives."

Bruce took this in and wondered whether or not he should press her any further. He decided for the time being to let it go since there was nothing he could do about it. "So Superman, what is he? And for that matter what are you? And a person who can move really fast…" Bruce asked.

Laura chuckled a bit. "I guess you didn't read the daily planet article."

Bruce looked at her skeptically. "I did. I didn't believe it."

"All true." Laura said then shrugged her shoulders. "Years ago, a little boy fell to earth and saw this planet not for the evil in it but the good. And he had the powers of a god and chose to use them to help."

"Sounds a little too fruity. It also sounds like you're in love with the guy". Bruce informed her.

"That was a long time ago." Laura laughed, "but it's all true. He really is one of the most _good_ people I've ever met. Actually, you remind me a lot of him in some ways. Neither of you are willing to give up even when it seems at times the whole world is against you."

"Alright, so I'm willing to open my eyes up to the idea of an alien but what are you?" Bruce asked. This was perhaps the question he was most curious in – she did after all save his life.

"Well when the alien came here so did radioactive bits of his home planet. The meteor rock seems to have some bizarre effects on people. I spent a greater part of my high school years studying the rocks and I guess got a bizarre effect myself." Laura said easily. "As for Impulse, he was caught in some freak storm I think. So his powers have no extraterrestrial basis." She added.

"Good to know – I guess." Bruce responded. He found the conversation so far to be rather humbling. This girl seemed to know things he could never imagine _needing_ to know. She had obviously been through a fair amount in her life and somehow winded up on the right side. "Any chance I'll ever get to meet your alien lover?" He asked lightheartedly.

A small smile formed on Laura's face, "maybe one day. He told me to tell you that he and the rest of the 'league' as they're calling themselves these days are waiting for you to join them. You just gotta say the word."

Bruce contemplated this. "It's a great offer. Really I respect their work. But I think I have so issues close to home to take care of before I can go off to save the world."

"You know, you don't have to be superfast or be able to fly to save the world. That's something Superman taught me." Laura began. "Just by being out there, by fighting for the right people and doing the right thing for the right reasons you're a hero. You're saving the world, just not in the most literal way. Sure, Superman might be saving lives but you're bringing back people's souls. Never underestimate the value in that." Laura finished and looked up to see Bruce staring back at her thoughtfully.

"So speaking of saving the world, will you be sticking around Gotham now that your cover has been blown?" Bruce asked.

"As much fun as this past week has been, Gotham never really felt much like home. With Superman showing his face and being a public figure my name's probably not going to be worth much to the FBI anymore and near Falconi is most likely the most dangerous place for me at the moment. I think it's time for Chloe Sullivan to make her triumphant return to Metropolis." She finished looking up at Bruce with a sense of finality.

"Well, Ms. Smith or Sullivan. It's been a pleasure working with you." Bruce informed her and offered his hand.

Chloe simply shook her head at his hand. "Trust me, this is just the beginning." She proceeded to turn around, leave a business card on an end table, and walked out the door.

**3 Months Later**

Chloe sat once again at the rooftop of the daily planet, triumphant in her return. She closed her eyes and felt once again the dirty city air skirt across her nose. She smiled when she felt a presence nearby. Opening her eyes, the sun was blocked by a giant red and blue – guy.

"So, how does it feel to be back and have Lex behind bars?" Clark asked.

"Amazing." Chloe responded. "Although to be honest, the best part of this is being Chloe again, you have no idea how good it feels to have my identity back."

Clark chuckled. "I know a thing or two about identity struggles."

The two friends laughed with one another on the rooftop of their workplace. Eventually, Chloe left so Clark (or Superman as he was at the time) and Lois could have an interview or a date or whatever it was. Chloe sat her desk greatful to be back.

Suddenly, her phone rang. A smile instantly marked her face. It was her first day back at the planet and already she felt important. She picked up the phone and was surprised who was on the other end.

"Ms. Sullivan? This is Mr. Wayne. I was just calling to congratulate you on the job." He told her.

"Thanks. How have you been? It's been months and you don't call you don't write…" She tells him.

"It's been a long few months. I'm just calling because well – I need a little help." He told her. Chloe smiled.

"It's about time." She told him.

THE END.

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A/N: SO I know I took forever to get out this final chapter. I got distracted by something else and I was also having trouble deciding where to leave this. I want it open ended enough so that you can imagine whatever ending you really want. This story was really about the beginning and about heroes and making the most of a bad situation and what not. Really, it's a fluff story about how much I love superhero charachters and their overwhelming goodness.

Nevertheless, there is a part of me that's considering a sequel that would more than less likely take place in Metropolis. It might also be a time traveling adventure.

Sorry if this was anti climactic but the important part was Chloe and Bruce finally meeting and whatnot.


End file.
